Akuma no Mi
by Repiece
Summary: Why are Devil Fruits called Devil Fruits?  Is it because they are incarnations of the Sea Devil?  Or is it something far worse?  What would happen when the Straw Hat Pirates find out the real truth especially if it involves their own Captain? LuNa
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Akuma no Mi.

The fruits that give anyone who eats them tremendous power.

Power to create fire, cause earthquakes and even make users transform into animals.

However, only a few know of the power that sleeps dormant inside every devil fruit.

A power that only one in every hundred devil fruit users are able to obtain.

A power that gave the fruits the name Devil Fruits.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy awoke with a start as he examined the bunker he shared with his male crew mates.

His entire body was covered in sweat as the nightmare he had ran through his mind.

He remembered every detail of his nightmare.

It was the same nightmare that he had ever since the death of his brother, Portgas D. Ace.

The same reoccurring nightmare of him dying right in his hands.

Even after he thought he forgot about it all, he could never forget the last image he had of Ace.

Taking deep, shallow breaths, he decided to go outside for some fresh air.

When he reached the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny, he looked around to make sure nobody was around.

He knew someone was out on night watch, but he didn't know who.

It wasn't like he wanted nobody around, he just felt like he needed some time alone to gather his thoughts.

So, he started making his way to Sunny's head.

Stretching his arm, he shot himself onto the ship's head and sat down in his favorite spot.

His treasured Straw Hat dangled behind him by the string around his neck and he just stared out into the ocean.

He remembered all the nights he had similar to this when he was training with Rayleigh.

Every time that he did, he would always go to the shore and stare out into the sea.

There were even times when he thought back to when that big bear guy named Kuma who made his nakama disappear right in front of his eyes.

He didn't want to rethink those moments, but they always came back when he was alone.

He wanted to forget everything, but he knew it was almost impossible.

Those two moments were stitched into his heart like scars that would never heal.

He knew he couldn't forget, but he also knew that he could prevent those same moments from happening again.

That was why he wanted to get stronger.

That was why he wanted to delay his adventures with his crew for two years.

So that he could get stronger.

So that he could protect the people them.

So that he could be prepared for anything and defeat strong enemies like Blackbeard and such.

Luffy took a deep breath to calm himself down as the memories only continued to flood.

Just then, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him.

He turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of the familiar orange hair of his navigator.

At that moment, the image of a crying Nami came into picture as he remembered the horrified look she had on her face when Kuma was about to make her disappear.

She called out to him.

She shouted his name.

She shouted to him to help her.

But he failed to do that.

He didn't help her and because of his weakness, she disappeared.

He clenched his teeth slightly in frustration.

He then heard her call him, "Luffy?"

Luffy turned his head toward her and forced a wide grin, "Oh, Nami! What are you doing up?"

He couldn't help but notice how much she changed in the past two years.

The most notable was her long hair that she grew out.

She looked at him with a worried expression.

She knew that the grin he put on was fake.

She knew Luffy for a long time and it was pretty easy to recognize when his grin or smile were fake or not.

She also found it weird that he was out here at this time of night.

Sure she knew he would always try to sneak food out of the refrigerator, but this was the first time she ever saw him anywhere but the kitchen.

This made her worried., "I couldn't sleep. Luffy...is something wrong?"

She frowned deeply as Luffy's grin turned into a smile, but a sad one at that.

He turned his head back around toward the ocean and that action caused her more concern, "Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

She could tell that he was lying, after all he was the worst liar she ever met, "Luffy...I know there is something wrong. You can tell me anything, after all we're nakama aren't we?"

Luffy chuckled a bit, "Yeah, your right. We are."

Nami stared at his back and waited for him to continue.

However, he didn't say anything after that and it only concerned her more, "Luffy..."

She saw a slight movement and it stopped her from saying anything else, "I've been having nightmares lately."

Nami was surprise at his words, "Nightmares? But for as long as I've known you I never thought you of all people would have nightmares."

Luffy chuckled again, "Yeah...but these nightmares have been coming and going ever since two years ago."

Nami couldn't help but make a noise escape from her mouth.

She knew what happened two years ago.

Who didn't know.

After all, it was possibly the biggest news anybody has heard in a long time.

The war against Whitebeard.

The death of both Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace.

She remembered crying after reading about the events in the newspaper.

She of all people knows exactly what Luffy was going through.

Her mother, Bellemere was killed right in front of her and now the same thing has happened to her captain.

The very same man who refused to accept her resignation back when she was with the Arlong Pirates.

The very same man who destroyed that prison she was forced to create maps for the fishman Arlong.

The very same man who rescued her from that prison and the hold Arlong had on her for eight painful years.

She felt a slight pain in her chest and she slowly lifted her hand to place it there, "Luffy..."

"I thought that, I could just forgot about the past, but it's so hard."

"Luffy..." Nami didn't know what she could say to help him.

"However, the past is the past. I can't keep living on in the past. After all, we still need to accomplish our dreams, right?" Luffy told her as he looked back at her with the real grin she and the others grew accustomed to.

Nami felt a little relief at the grin, but there was still something that she knew was eating Luffy up inside him.

Nami bit her bottom lip, "Luffy...I...I know what you are going through. When Bellemere was killed by Arlong right in front of me, I...I had nightmares as well. Nightmares that I didn't think I could ever forgot. But, when you defeated Arlong, I stopped have those nightmares. It was all thanks to you that I was able to go on and forget about the past. I know it's hard and I don't know if I can help you forget those nightmares like the way you helped me, but if there is anything I could do to help, then I would do it no matter what."

"Nami..." He looked at her in shock.

"All you've done is helped me and I don't know if I could ever repay you for everything you did. But, if there is anything, even if it's something small, that I can do to help you, please just tell me. I want to help you, Luffy. So, just promise me. Promise me that if there is anything I can do to help you, tell me...please..."

Luffy stared at her.

He could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to help him.

He began to chuckle.

"But you already helped me...I mean you are the navigator of my crew and if it wasn't for you we probably would have been dead a long time ago." Nami had a feeling he would say that, but it wasn't what she meant.

"Luffy...I did-" She tried to explain, but he stopped her from continuing by jumping off of Sunny's head.

"Shishishi! Thanks for the talk Nami! I feel a lot better! I'm pretty tired so I guess I'll go to bed. Don't stay out too long." He told her as he started to walk away, but as soon as his back was turned to her, his smile quickly turned into a frown.

Nami looked at his retreating back with worry.

She didn't know why, but she had this dreadful feeling that took over her body and she had this bad feeling that something was going to happen to her captain that she or anyone else would even imagine.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Nami awoke the next morning feeling a bit tired.

She didn't plan on staying up that long after Luffy left her alone, but she needed some time to herself.

Stretching, she got up and walked over to her closet to get dressed for the day.

She couldn't erase the memory of her little talk with Luffy last night.

It wasn't like she was trying to forget it, but she wanted to put it in the back of her mind so that she wouldn't feel awkward around Luffy.

When she finally finished getting dressed and completing her daily morning ritual, she walked out onto the deck and headed toward the kitchen.

The intoxicating scent of Sanji's cooking which she missed during the two years they were all separated.

She missed all of them dearly and was excited that she was able to reunite with everybody.

She opened the door to the kitchen and the ever so love struck cook immediately turned his head to greet her.

"Good morning, Nami-swan~! You look lovely as ever this morning!" He exclaimed looking at her with one of his eyes as a heart.

"Good morning, Sanji-kun!" She greeted back with a large smile and took a seat by the table.

"Would you like anything to drink, Nami-swan!" Sanji offered her and she replied with a smile and a nod of her head.

"Mm! A glass of orange juice would be nice!"

"Coming right up~!" He danced his way into making her request.

When he finished, he gave her the drink and returned to preparing breakfast for the self proclaimed idiots, except for Robin of course.

Nami took a sip of her drink and stared down at the orange liquid in deep thought.

"Ne, Sanji-kun?" Nami suddenly spoke as the blond cook turned his head to look at her.

"Hai, Nami-swan~!"

"Do you think Luffy has been acting differently lately?" She looked up at him and his heart eye returned to normal, blinking confusingly at her question.

"What do you mean by that, Nami-san?"

"Well...I don't know...he just seems a bit off lately...especially last night..." Nami answered narrowing her eyes a bit.

"Last night?" Sanji stopped cooking.

"Mm. He said that he had been having nightmares."

"Nightmares? That rubber idiot?"

"Well, it makes sense since they are mostly about Ace." Sanji frowned, but went back to cooking breakfast.

"Believe it or not Nami-san~, but even idiots like him get nightmares. I'm sure he'll be fine." Sanji told her.

Nami wanted to believe that.

She really did.

But there was this feeling in her gut that it wasn't going to be that simple.

When Bellemere died, she was in the very similar situation.

She had nightmares for countless nights after she was killed in front of her.

Nightmares that wouldn't go away until Luffy saved her from her imprisonment.

For the past two years all she wanted was to become stronger.

Stronger so that this time she could help Luffy.

Just like what he did for her.

The door opened and the other members of the crew entered.

Zoro came in first, yawning while the others followed right behind him.

Nami kept her eyes on Luffy as he acted his normal self and jumped into his seat.

He began to bang his fists on the table, a fork and knife in his hands as he yelled out for food.

It amazed Nami to see Luffy so cheerful after their little talk last night.

To her, it seemed off.

When she had her nightmares, she would hide it just like Luffy is doing now, but at least she would show her emotions when she was alone.

She didn't know if that was what Luffy did, but knowing him, she knew he wasn't going to let his emotions take over.

Nami averted her eyes from her captain when Sanji began placing the food he made for the crew on the table.

In an instant, Luffy began grabbing any food he could reach, and that was everything, and began stuffing it in his mouth.

At least at the moment, Nami was just glad that he was back to his old self.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy woke up and something was off.

He couldn't see anything.

All around him was nothing but darkness.

"Where am I?" Luffy shouted, hoping that someone would hear him.

He didn't hear anything.

He tried running forward.

However no matter how much he ran it felt like he never moved.

Suddenly, he heard something behind him.

He quickly turned around, but saw nothing.

The voice, however, was getting louder.

_**Luffy...**_

Someone was calling his name.

It was quiet, but he heard his name.

"Who's there?" Luffy called out, hoping to hear a response.

_**It's too late to stop it...**_

Luffy's eyes widened as the voice felt like it came just right behind him.

Luffy quickly turned around and saw nothing.

He gritted his teeth in anger.

"Who are you!" He shouted as an echo followed.

_**Who am I? I'm you...**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy suddenly woke up in the familiar bunker of the Thousand Sunny.

He was covered in sweat as he looked down at his hands.

"W-What...was that?" He asked himself.

The snores from his fellow crew mates were the only noise heard in the bunker.

Luffy laid back down and stared up at the ceiling.

It was just a dream.

Luffy let out a long sigh to try to relax himself.

He had been having nightmares, but this was the first time he ever had a dream like that.

Being alone in a place like that was not something he was comfortable with.

He hated the feeling of loneliness.

He did not know what he would do if he was alone without any of his nakama.

Just the thought of that made him afraid.

The one thing he was scared about more than anything was to lose one of his nakama and it only increased after losing Ace.

Then his mind wandered toward the voice he heard in his dream.

He didn't know who's voice it was, but it felt really creepy.

He hoped he never had to hear the voice again.

However, there was one thing the voice said that bothered him.

_It's too late to stop it..._

"Stop...what...?" Luffy muttered quietly so that he wouldn't wake any of the others up.

However, Sanji was awake and eyed Luffy.

The conversation he had with Nami made him curious, so he decided to see for himself if anything was wrong with the rubber idiot.

It started off with nothing unusual until he heard Luffy begin to moan and then began sweating all over.

Then came the sudden wake up.

It was odd for Sanji to see Luffy so spooked like he was.

He then heard him whisper something, but couldn't hear what it was.

Sanji eyed him for a few more minutes before he went back to sleep.

Sighing, he decided to get some sleep as well.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning was as normal as always.

The entire crew acted like their usual selves.

Nami looked over at Luffy from time to time, but she saw nothing in particular wrong with him.

Then again, she knew it was probably all just an act.

Sighing, she frowned before continuing eating her meal.

"Nami-san, can we talk?" Sanji asked her as she was leaving the kitchen with the others.

"Huh? What is it, Sanji-kun?" She asked him and watched as he took out a cigarette.

"You remember the talk we had yesterday?" Nami nodded. "Well, I decided to see if what you said about Luffy was true and I saw something strange."

"Huh? What do you mean, strange?" She asked worried a bit.

"Well, I don't know if it's anything, but last night when he was sleeping, he started to act differently." Sanji replied.

"Did he have another nightmare?" She asked frowning.

"I don't know for sure, but it sure did seem like it." Sanji answered and closed his eyes.

Nami lowered her head with a sad frown on her face.

Sanji looked over to her and let out a sigh.

"Ne, Sanji-kun? Why does he always do this?" Nami asked with a sad tone.

"Do what Nami-san?" He asked, not sure what she was asking him.

"Well, it's just that whenever something happens that involves him, he always hides his feelings." Sanji raised his eyebrow. "I don't know how to explain it, but it's like he's wearing a mask. A mask that hides his true feelings." Nami heard Sanji chuckle a bit, which made her slightly angry.

"Ah, gomen Nami-san, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just that I find it hard to believe that." Sanji explained. "It's true Luffy hardly ever shows his feelings, but it's just because hes like that."

Nami could only frown.

'Maybe he's right...' Nami lowered her head before looking back at him with a big smile. "Arigatou, Sanji-kun."

"Haiiii Nami-swan!" Sanji exclaimed with excitement.

Nami walked out of the kitchen, leaving Sanji to attend to the dishes back in the kitchen.

She walked down the steps toward the grassy deck, letting the nice ocean breeze blow her long orange hair back with it.

She looked around and saw that her crew mates were each doing their own thing.

Robin was quietly reading a new book in her lawn chair.

Usopp was working on a new invention.

Franky was fixing the steering wheel up in front.

Chopper was grinding ingredients together to make more medicine for the crew.

Zoro was being Zoro as he was fast asleep leaning his head against the railing.

Brook was fixing up his violin while humming a small tune to himself.

And Luffy...

'Wait a minute, where's Luffy?' She couldn't see the rubber man anywhere.

He wasn't even on his favorite spot, where she saw him almost two nights ago.

Frowning, she decided to search inside the cabins.

Passing through each door, she couldn't find him anywhere.

This began to worry her.

It wasn't like him to simply be quiet around the others and not wanting to play with any one of them.

It was almost like Luffy was hiding something.

She passed by a door when she heard a sound.

Turning around, she walked toward the door she just passed by and was about to knock.

However, another sound was heard from inside and then came the sound of the shower head being turned on.

She sighed. 'This baka...making me worried over nothing.' Deciding not to knock, she turned back around and heading back to the deck.

Inside the room, Luffy stood in front of the shower head as the water ran down his body.

_It's too late to stop it..._

Luffy was confused by what the voice said in his nightmare.

"What did he mean by that?" He spoke and pressed his hands against the wall in front of him. "What the hell is going on?"

He began to take deep breaths to try and calm himself and his fast beating heart down.

Luffy wasn't sure what was going on.

Whatever it was, he hoped for it to stop so he wouldn't worry his nakama.

But that voice, it just kept ringing in his head over and over again.

The same six words only kept being repeating in his head.

He cursed under his breath.

"Stop it..."

Luffy clenched his teeth.

"Stop it!" He screamed and it only continued.

Luffy grabbed a hold of his head with his hands and began pulling his head in pain.

His head started to hurt as the voice grew louder in his head.

**It hurts...doesn't it...**

Luffy's eyes widened.

**The pain will only increase...**

Luffy breathing began getting heavier.

**Stop fighting it...**

**You know you can't stop it...**

**Stop fighting it...Luffy...**

"Stop it!" Luffy screamed.

"Luffy?" Luffy's eyes widened as he heard Nami's voice. "Luffy? Is everything alright?"

"U-Uh...yeah..." He replied as the voices stopped.

Nami heard him answering her as she frowned.

She came back finding it weird that Luffy was taking a shower this early in the day and when she arrived at the door, she heard him screaming.

However, when she heard him scream, she swore she heard fear in his tone.

She hardly ever heard Luffy sound like he was afraid.

She knew that when he answered her, he was lying.

Just the way he sounded she knew something was wrong.

"Are you sure, Luffy?" Nami asked.

"Y-yeah...I'm fine Nami...I'll be out in a sec..." He said as she heard the sound of the shower head being turned off.

She patiently waited for him to come out and when he did, Nami's eyes widened.

He was grinning at her.

But it wasn't just any grin.

No...it was a grin that she didn't recognize.

A grin that she never saw on Luffy's face.

A grin that had sadness in it.

"Yo, Nami. What are you doing here?" He asked her. "Ah! You need to use the shower? I'm done so go ahead." He told her, still having that grin on his face and walked past her.

She looked at his trailing back.

She bit her bottom lip.

"Luffy!" She yelled at him. "Something is wrong...why don't you talk to us about it. Aren't we your nakama! Why won't you let us help you like you always help us!"

Luffy stopped walking, keeping his back toward her.

"What are you talking about, Nami? I'm fine." He replied not turning around.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?" She asked.

Luffy lowered his head slightly.

"Sanji saw you...last night..." She swore she saw him tense up a bit. "He told me how you suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. He told me you also whispered something, but he couldn't hear it. What was it, Luffy?"

Luffy didn't respond.

"Luffy!"

He clenched his fists tightly, before turning his head. "It was nothing, Nami. Just another nightmare about Ace."

Nami knew he lied, but why didn't she stop him when he began walking again.

Just what was going on with her captain.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"LAND AHOY!" Usopp's voice rang throughout the ship as the intercom delivered his message to every member of the Strawhats.

Nami was snapped from her thoughts at Usopp's voice and started walking toward the deck.

By the time she was outside, everyone else was already in the front, including Luffy who she saw was sitting on Sunny's head.

She frowned remembering the conversation she had with him that night.

She could hear the voices of the other debate what kind of island they were about to embark on was going to be like, but she could only stare at Luffy.

She knew something was wrong with him, but she just couldn't put a finger on it.

Nami knew that her captain wouldn't want her to worry about him, but how could she not.

He has done so much for her and yet, when she wants to help him, he rejects her.

She hated that.

She wanted to help him so much that it hurt.

But if she doesn't know what the problem is, how could she help him.

If only he told her.

If he did then she would do anything in her power to help, just like he did for her.

"Nami-chan?" Nami was taken away from her thoughts and turned around to look at Robin who caught her staring at Luffy. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? N-No...it's nothing..." She replied, but she was uncertain with her own words as she frowned and lowered her head.

Robin became worried.

"Are you sure?" She asked, hoping to get the truth out from her.

Nami didn't respond and narrowed her eyes.

Robin frowned.

"Hey, there seems to be a town on that island!" Usopp told the others as he lowered his goggles to his eyes and turned them to use them as a telescope.

He narrowed his eyes to take a closer look as the town became visible.

"So, how does it look like?" Franky asked behind the wheel.

"W-Well...ummm...how do I explain it?" Usopp muttered.

"Huh? What is it?" Zoro asked slightly irritated.

Usopp began to shake. "Ahhhh...t-that town is n-n-nothing but rubble..." He shook in fear, as it was clearly heard in his voice.

"Rubble?" Sanji asked.

Usopp nodded his head.

"What do you mean?" Chopper asked.

"I mean like a large explosion took out the entire town." Usopp explained perking the interest of the others, except for Luffy who was too excited to care.

They didn't ask any other questions, deciding that it would be best to see it for themselves.

Once the Thousand Sunny docked at the port, the crew's eyes widened.

The town indeed looked like it was suddenly destroyed in an explosion.

Luffy hopped off the ship and onto the ground, a wide grin plastered on his face.

When the others got off, they got a closer look at the destruction.

"What in the world could have happened here?" Brook asked the question that everyone had in mind.

"This wood...it looks like whatever happened to this town happened recently." Robin told the others as she knelt down in front of a building that was burned to a crisp.

"Huh? R-Really!" Usopp cowered, biting his nails.

"But the question is what?" Sanji spoke.

"Hm? Where's Luffy!" Chopper asked as everyone turned their heads in the direction that their captain had stood.

"That idiot..." Nami placed a hand to her head.

"He really can't stand still for a minute could he?" Zoro muttered in annoyance.

Luffy, however didn't get lost by accident.

He hid behind one of the large pieces of burnt wood to avoid being seen by his crew.

He placed a hand on his chest.

"W-What's going on w-with me?" Luffy whined as the pain in his chest worsened with every word he spoke.

**It would only get worse...**

Luffy's eyes widened as the voice showed up once again.

**Stop fighting it...**

Luffy gritted his teeth.

He didn't know what was going on with him, but he knew that he should not listen to the voice.

**It would be your fault you know...**

Luffy eye's widened at what the voice said.

**It would be your fault when someone you care about...**

**...gets hurt...**

Luffy began coughing.

He put a hand to his mouth to muffle his coughs.

When he removed his hand from his mouth his eyes widened at the sight of blood on his hand.

**It will only get worse...**

The voice repeated and Luffy started coughing again.

He felt his legs get weak and ultimately fell on his knees as he couldn't support himself any further.

The voice only continued to talk to him.

**Just stop fighting it and it will all go away...**

**Your pain...**

**Your sorrow...**

Luffy placed his hands to cover his ears.

The voice was only getting louder.

**I can help you heal...**

**Just do what I say and all the pain you are feeling will be gone...**

Luffy shook his head.

"No!"

**Why are you resisting...**

**Do you want to worry your friends...**

**Do you want her to worry about you...**

"No!" Luffy shouted.

**Then why are you fighting...**

"Leave me alone!" Luffy shouted even louder.

"Luffy!" Luffy's eyes widened at the sound of his navigator's voice.

He began to lower his hands and then turned his head to look at Nami.

"N-Nami..." He managed to say before he suddenly felt faint and collapsed.

"Luffy!" Nami yelled and went over to him. "Luffy! Are you alright!"

She tried shaking him, but it didn't work.

Nami placed her hand on his forehead and quickly let go.

His forehead was burning hot.

"Chopper!" She frantically called. "Chopper! Luffy's sick!

At the sound of her voice, the rest of the crew all ran toward her.

"Nami-swan! What's wrong!" Sanji was the first to speak, thinking Nami was in danger, but when he saw Luffy, his eyes widened. "W-What's going on?"

"Chopper! Come quick! Luffy...he's..." Nami cried out as tears began falling from her eyes.

Chopper made his way through the others and knelt down in front of Luffy.

He checked out Luffy's forehead and had the same reaction as Nami.

"Hot!" He exclaimed in worry. "He has a terrible fever! Quick! We have to get him back to the ship!"

Zoro nodded his head and walked over to Luffy's body and picked him up over his shoulder.

He quickly ran past the others as they had worried expressions written on their faces.

Chopper and Nami were behind Zoro, the tears on Nami's face continuing to fall.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Straw hats all waited patiently inside the kitchen, awaiting for Chopper to come back from the infirmary with news on their Captain.

They all had frowns on their faces, but none were deeper than Nami's own.

Her eyes were slightly red from the cry she did.

She wanted to be with Luffy, but Chopper told her to leave in case whatever he had was contagious.

She wanted to be with him, but she knew that Chopper needed to concentrate, so she decided to wait patiently with the others.

Robin sat next to the tangerine loving girl on the couch.

"Nami...?"

"What?" Nami answered despite not wanting to talk to anyone at the moment.

Seeing how she answered with fear and slight annoyance in her voice, she decided against asking her question to her. "N-Nothing...never mind."

Nami didn't look toward her, but she felt guilty for talking that way to her friend.

She was about to apologize when the door to the kitchen opened and a few of the Straw Hats, including Nami, stood up.

Chopper walked in with a frown, but confused expression on his face.

"C-Chopper...is Luffy...okay?" Nami asked.

"I don't know..." The reindeer doctor replied sadly. "I-I never seen anything like this...even after all that I learned the last two years...I can't figure this out."

"Oi Chopper, what do you mean? I thought he only had a fever..." Usopp said.

"Mm. He does, but that's not what I'm talking about..." Chopper told him.

"T-Then what is it?" Sanji asked, pushing himself off the counter.

Chopper frown deepened and showed them a bag full of black liquid.

"What is that?" Zoro asked raising an eyebrow.

"This is..." Chopper paused. "...this is Luffy's blood."

The entire crew let out gasps of shock.

"W-W-What?" Usopp stuttered with his eyes wide opened.

"Oi, Chopper, blood can't be black." Franky told him.

"I know...but when I was taking out some of Luffy's blood to test it in case he contracted a virus, but instead of red blood...this black stuff came out." Chopper told them, some tears began welling up in his eyes. "I-I don't know...I don't know..."

"Ah! It's okay, Chopper!" Nami reassured him, putting a hand on his head in comfort. "Is it okay if we see Luffy?"

The reindeer looked up at the orange haired navigator and slowly nodded his head. "Mm. But we have to be quiet. He needs to sleep."

Nami and the others nodded their head in agreement.

The Straw Hats walked over to the infirmary and opened the door.

However, Luffy wasn't there.

"W-Where's Luffy?" Nami asked searching around the infirmary.

"T-That's not possible! He was here when I left!" Chopper ran toward the bed.

"Do you think he could have woken up and needs help?" Brook asked, showing sadness on his face.

"Whatever the case, we have to find him." Nami told them. "Let's search the ship!"

"Yosh!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy panted heavily as his entire body felt like it was on fire.

"W-What is wrong with me!"

**I can help you...**

"T-That voice again..." Luffy growled, annoyed that the voice decided to come out now.

**You should stop denying my help...**

**Do you want your nakama to worry...**

**Do you want her to worry...**

"N-No..."

**Then why are you hesitating...**

"I...I...I..."

**All you have to do is follow my directions and everything will be solved...**

"W-W-Why should I trust?"

**Why...**

**Because I'm you...**

"W-What are you talking about?"

**Just do what I tell you...**

**Then everything will be better...**

**For you...**

**For your nakama...**

**And for me...**

Luffy hesitated saying the next few words.

Should he trust this voice?

It was all too confusing for him.

He didn't like the way he was feeling.

He wanted this feeling to go away.

Her just wanted to return to his normal self.

"W-What do I do?"

**Go straight...**

Luffy did as the voice told him.

He felt extremely weak.

He staggered every few steps.

Before he knew it, the Thousand Sunny was no longer visible from his view as he walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

**Stop...**

Luffy did so and looked around.

"W-What is it?"

**Turn right...**

Luffy did so.

**Go straight...**

Luffy started walking.

He didn't know where he was going, but he knew his nakama noticed his absence.

He had to apologize to them when he got better.

He didn't know where the voice was leading him to, but he had no other choice.

He hated to admit this, but, his crew couldn't do anything to help him this time.

This voice was the only thing he had in finding out to make him feel better.

He had to get better.

He had to.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did anyone find him?" Franky asked as they all stood on the deck.

"No." Zoro responded and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Where did that rubber idiot go?" Sanji muttered.

Robin looked over at Nami and saw that she had her head lowered, her eyes narrowed parallel to the ground, and a huge frown on her face.

The question she wanted to ask her before peaked her interest again.

"Nami?"

"W-What is it?" Nami responded quietly, not moving her body.

"Do you know what's going on?" She asked and this time, Nami raised her head to look at her.

"W-What?" She asked shocked.

"I overheard your conversation with Cook-san." She told her.

The others who didn't know what Robin was talking about all turned their heads to Nami.

"I-I see..." Nami lowered her head again.

Sanji frowned at Nami.

Nami didn't say anything else after that, so Sanji decided to tell them.

"Nami-swan and that idiot had a talk about a couple of days ago..." He began. "Apparently, he has nightmares about his brother's death."

"Nani!" Everyone besides Zoro, Robin and Nami shouted.

"Mm. I told Nami-swan that he would be fine since everyone gets nightmares, but..." Sanji paused, lighting a cigarette. "I decided to see for myself if anything was wrong with him."

"And what happened?" Usopp asked.

"When he fell asleep at first, nothing was wrong. But then he started writhing around in his sleep. I noticed that his entire body began getting soaked with his sweat and then about 5 minutes later, he woke up with a shocked look on his face."

"Nani? That doesn't sound like Mugiwara?" Franky crossed his arms.

"Mm. He did also whisper something, but it was too low for me to catch it." Sanji added.

"I see..." Robin crossed her arms.

"I understand why Luffy would get nightmares...but that doesn't explain why he's been acting like this." Zoro spoke. "In any case we have to find him and let him explain everything to us."

"Mm." Usopp and Chopper both nodded their heads.

"If he's not on the boat then he must have gotten off it and headed off in some direction deeper into the island." Zoro continued. "We should split up and search for him."

"Right!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"W-Where are we?" Luffy asked as his eyes widened at the sight of a large building that looked like it was caught in the center of whatever took out the town.

**Go inside...**

Luffy waited a bit before doing what he was told.

Once he entered the building, he looked around and saw a whole bunch of destroyed machines and computers.

"W-What is this place?" Luffy asked the voice, hoping this time he would respond.

"This place is...where you fulfill my dream..."

Luffy's eyes widened as a voice right behind him answered his question.

Before he could turn around, he felt something being placed on his back and he started to feel weak.

Luffy closed his eyes and fell forward as the object on his back clutched against his shirt.

The object was sea stone.

The man looked down over at Luffy's unconscious body and smirked.

"You have finally arrived...Monkey D. Luffy...hehehehe..."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nami was worried.

She was also getting very annoyed.

She looked behind her and once again Zoro was missing.

"That baka! How could he get lost! We were just walking in a straight line!" She yelled in frustration.

"Oi Nami! Why are you getting lost all the time?" A vein appeared on Nami's forehead as Zoro stood behind her.

One second later, Zoro was on the ground with a large bump growing on his head.

"Shut up you baka! Just go in a straight line and this time you go first!" Nami yelled at him as he grumbled something in response and did what she told him to do.

Luckily for Nami, Zoro never got lost once she had a eye on him.

She didn't know if she was lucky or had the worse curse in the world that she was stuck being Zoro's partner.

She would rather have Sanji with, at least he didn't get lost every damn minute.

Sure he would have been his idiotic self around her, but she was used to that already.

But Zoro getting lost, she didn't think she would ever get used to that.

They had to find Luffy.

She knew there was something wrong with him and this time, she was not going to let him off the hook until he tells her what was wrong with him.

These nightmares he's been getting couldn't just be nightmares that any ordinary human being could get.

They just had to be something only someone with Luffy's level of strength could get.

Whatever it was, she wanted to help and she would be damned if he refused her help once again.

It became serious and so should she.

Zoro suddenly stopped.

Nami saw him stop and she did the same.

"Zoro?" She asked, but he didn't respond.

Nami was confused.

She knew Zoro wouldn't stop unless he sensed something.

She didn't know how he was able to do that, but she guessed that it must have been a swordsman thing.

Zoro suddenly reached for his swords and that alarmed Nami.

She took out her clima tact.

"Oi, Zoro! What is it?" She asked again.

"Someone is here." He whispered while trying to sense where the spy was hiding.

At those words, Nami gulped.

Over the two years, she has gotten stronger.

She needed to.

Her captain depended on her and she couldn't let him down.

No matter what, she would protect her captain from anyone, just like he did for her.

"There!" Zoro shouted and struck with one of his blades as an air compressed attack headed to the right and toward some bushes.

The attack cut several leaves and part of the ground.

"Who's there!" Zoro yelled over to the bush and a few seconds later, a man in his late 40's walked out, his hands in the air signaling that he surrendered.

"Huh? Who are you?" Nami asked.

"Please don't hurt me! I'm just someone who lives on this island." He cried out.

"Live? So then, there are still people living on this island?" Nami asked.

The man nodded.

"Y-Yeah...there is a few of us left." He told them. "I was only trying to find food, I didn't mean to spy on you two."

Zoro placed his sword back in its sheath and turned to Nami.

"What do we do?"

"Ne, you wouldn't happen to have seen a guy wearing a straw hat around, have you?" Nami asked.

The man shook his head. "N-No, I haven't."

Nami cursed under her breath.

'Damn! Luffy, where are you?'

"Is he a friend of yours?" The man asked.

"Mm. He is, but he's missing." Nami answered his question.

"W-Well, maybe some of the others have seen him." The man suggested. "You can go and ask them."

"Eh? Really?" Nami asked as Zoro eyed the man suspiciously.

"As long as you don't kill me, I'll be glad to help." The man chuckled nervously.

"Mm. Arigatou!" Nami thanked the man.

"Follow me then." The man turned round and Nami started following him, making sure Zoro went first so he wouldn't get lost and he would be able to protect her in case they were heading into a trap.

She wasn't that stupid to trust a man they just met.

She was sure Zoro could easily kill this man in a blink of the eye.

She just hoped that all this lead to the whereabouts of her captain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, this is the man?"

"Yes, he has finally come to our island, just like I knew he would."

"I see. How close is he to fully become the demon?"

"Close, but it will take a while. Normally it would have taken days, but now that he is on this island, the changing process has increased in speed. If I had to guess, he would fully turn into the demon in a couple of hours."

"I see. What about his crew?"

"They would become a problem if they find him before he fully changes. However, I have a plan for them."

"Mind sharing."

"In due time...in due time."

"Boss!"

"What is it?"

"The two of the Straw Hats just arrived at the village!"

"Really now? How did they find this place?"

"Macao brought them here."

"Macao, huh?"

"Do you want me to kill him?"

"No, no. This could be very useful to us. I will go greet them myself. Until I return, make sure Monkey D. Luffy isn't interrupted."

"Yes, sir. As you wish."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Welcome to our village." The man told Zoro and Nami as villagers looked at the the two with awe filled eyes.

"These people are giving me the creeps." Zoro muttered, getting annoyed by their stares.

"M-Mm." Nami agreed.

Even she felt a bit uncomfortable by their stares.

"So, where are we going?" Zoro asked the man.

"We are going to see our leader. We'll ask him if he has seen your friend." The man told them.

"You called for me, Macao?" Macao stopped in his track and dropped to his knees in respect.

"Leader."

Zoro and Nami found it strange how he was acting toward the new man that appeared.

It was almost like, he worshiped him like some deity.

"Please rise, Macao." He told Macao as he nodded and stood up.

"Yes, leader."

"Now then, who are your friends?"

"My name is Nami and this is Zoro." Nami introduced the two of them. "We came here to ask if you seen a man wearing a straw hat."

"A man wearing a straw hat? No...I believe I do not. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of any help." The man apologized.

"Oh...I see..." Nami frowned and lowered her head.

"Don't feel so sad. If you want, I can help you locate your friend." The man offered.

"Ah! No, we don't want to bother you with our problem." Nami told him.

"Don't be silly. We don't get much visitors on our island. I assume you saw what happened to the town near the shore."

"M-Mm." Nami nodded.

"Because of an incident a few years ago, the town was left in that particular state. We have tried to rebuild it, but the incident was so bad that we don't feel very comfortable going back. But we do live happily here in our new home. Please, if there is anything we could help you with, please tell us." The man smiled.

"A-Arigatou..." Nami thanked the man.

"Anything for our guests."

"We just need to get the others to come." Nami told him and reached into her pocket to take out a flare gun. "If you don't mind, I would like to fire this to inform our friends where we are."

"Of course not. When your friends do come, please call me back." The man told the two. "Now if you'll excuse me." He bowed and turned to leave.

"Alright, lets get the others to come here. Since they know the island better than us, it could help us find Luffy." Nami told Zoro in which he nodded.

Name fired the gun as the flare went up to the sky.

'Everyone...come quickly...'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, how did it go?"

"They are calling the rest of their crew to come to the village. In a few, they should all be here. How was he while I was gone?"

"He made some progress, but he's not there yet."

"That's fine. As long as his crew doesn't find this place, everything will go smoothly."

"Then, the time is almost near?"

"Yes...soon the world will now our power!"

**To Be Continued...**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"What is this place?" Usopp asked looking around the town that Nami and Zoro were in.

"It looks like some sort of refuge place." Sanji said.

"But why would Nami signal us to come here?" Chopper asked.

"I guess we'll just have to find out." Franky told him.

"Oi! Everyone! Over here!" The Straw Hats turned their heads toward the voice and saw Nami waving at them.

"Nami-swan! Your dashing knight has finally come!" Sanji exclaimed while prancing and dancing over to her.

"Right...whatever..." Nami sighed, face palming herself from the embarrassment.

"This love sicken idiot..." Zoro grumbled.

"What was that, Marimo?" Sanji yelled hearing him.

"Your too noisy!" Zoro yelled back and the two had their daily stare down.

"So, Nami-chan, where are we?" Robin asked.

"This is a village homed to the people who used to live in that town that got destroyed." Nami answered her. "The man in charge said that he would help us find Luffy."

"What makes you think they might help us?" Franky asked, crossing his arms.

"Well since they know the island better than anyone, it would help our search ten fold." Nami answered with a smile.

"I see..." Robin whispered.

"So, where is this leader?" Usopp asked.

"Ah! So these are your friends?" The Straw Hats turned their heads to see the leader of the village.

"Yes." Nami nodded.

"I see. Well then..." Suddenly, the people around the Straw Hats circled around them and pointed weapons at them.

"W-What?" Nami asked in shock. "W-What are you doing!"

"You see...we know who you, Straw Hats. We know how much all of you are worth all together. If we hand you over to the marines, then we can get the money to help build our town again. I hope you understand." The leader told them.

"Bastard..." Zoro muttered in anger.

The other Straw Hats stared back at the weapons, except for Usopp and Chopper who slight shook in fear.

"Now then, if you don't mind..." The leader snapped his fingers and the men surrounding the Straw Hats charged at them.

"You'd think they would know who they're dealing with..." Sanji muttered.

"Maybe they didn't get the memo, yohohoho!" Brook laughed, pulling his sword out of his cane.

"Well, I don't mind." Franky grinned and punched several men away using his new modified arm.

Zoro smirked as he cut down several men.

Chopper grew in to his human form and picked up one of the men and then threw him at a group.

The leader watched the Straw Hats take out his men so easily, but wasn't fazed by it.

In fact he was expecting them to be beaten so easily.

Once all his men were defeated, the Straw Hats turned their weapons toward him.

He started clapping. "Well done. You really are as strong as the rumors say you are. But I wonder...if you are able to defeat me."

"Oh..." Zoro smirked.

"Hahahaha! Very well then. Let's just see if you are able to defeat me!" He then raised his arm and gestured them to make the first move.

Zoro was the first to run toward him.

"Nitoryu...Sai Kuru!" Zoro swung his swords in an attack.

The leader of the village smirked before he grabbed both of Zoro's swords before he could complete his attack.

Zoro's eye widened in shock.

"N-N-Nani?" The other Straw Hats shouted in shock.

"Oh...not bad, you really are worth your 120 million bounty. However, you are still 20 years too young to face me." The man pushed both Zoro's swords up, causing him to lose his balance.

The leader then punched Zoro in the stomach, pushing him back with a large amount of force behind it.

Zoro spat out blood as he skidded to a stop on the ground just in front of the others.

"Zoro!" Chopper shouted as he ran toward him to check if he was okay.

"W-What? T-That's impossible..." Usopp muttered in shock.

"That bastard..." Sanji growled and this time, he charged toward the man.

"You're next, huh?" The leader smirked and watched as Sanji jumped in the air, spun around, and tried kicking him.

Sanji's eyes widened when the man grabbed his foot bare handed and then slammed him down to the ground.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami shouted.

"Gah..." Sanji spat out some blood, feeling intense pain in his rib area.

"Yare, yare...to think two of the three strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates are this weak." The man sighed in disappointment.

He picked Sanji up and then tossed him over to the others.

"Sanji!" Chopper ran over to him to see if he was okay.

"How could he be this strong?" Franky said in shock at his strength.

"Could it be a Devil Fruit power?" Usopp asked.

"Maybe...but it doesn't seem like he showed it to us yet..." Robin mentioned.

"Then that means that he is this strong without even using a Devil Fruit's power...Yohohohoho...scary..." Brook said as his bones rattled against each other.

"I wonder if that Captain of yours will be more of a challenge..." The man said.

"You know where Luffy is?" Nami exclaimed.

"Maybe I do...maybe I don't...it doesn't matter anyway...after all...he won't be your Captain much longer." The man snickered.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Nami asked.

"You'll see soon enough." The man turned around. "If you want to see your Captain again...then return to your ship later tonight. When you do, he will be there...with some surprising news..." He chuckled before walking away.

"Ah! Wait a minute...!" Franky yelled trying to go after him, but was held back by Zoro.

"It's no use..." Zoro told him. "He's way too strong for any of us. The only person who could handle him is Luffy. He is the only one who knows where he is. We should head back to Sunny." Zoro told them.

"But..." Nami tried arguing.

"Marimo is right, Nami-san..." Sanji told her, standing up. "We'll be able to see Luffy later, right? I'm sure everything would be explained then."

"A-Alright..." Nami gave in.

She didn't like this.

There was this nagging feeling in her chest that made her worry.

Just what was going on?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I assume he's ready..."

"Yes, he's almost there..."

"How long?"

"An hour or two."

"Perfect..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night, the Straw Hats all waited patiently for Luffy.

They all were inside the kitchen, doing anything to pass the time.

Then, a sudden noise was heard outside and they all ran out of the kitchen to the deck.

They're eyes widened when they saw Luffy standing just behind the wheel in front of the ship.

"Luffy!" Some of them shouted as they ran down toward him.

They all stopped just a couple of steps behind him.

He didn't turn around to greet them.

He stayed still.

Nami thought that the sight of Luffy would calm the nagging feeling down, but it didn't.

It only made it worse.

"Luffy..." Nami whispered his name.

They saw him raise his head.

"Mina..." He spoke.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Will he do it?"

"Of course he will. Hehehe, there is nothing he cherishes more than his friends."

"I see...and then after this he will..."

"Of course...he will most definitely join us...after all...he doesn't have much of a choice..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"W-What?" Everyone's eyes widened at what Luffy just told them.

"Luffy...you can't be serious..." Nami whispered.

Luffy still had his back turned to them.

He didn't answer.

"Oi, Luffy!" Sanji yelled at him. "Something lie that isn't funny! If this is some joke of yours then you better be prepared for no food for an entire week."

"It's not a joke..." Luffy replied.

"No...you can't mean it...Luffy..." Usopp cried.

"I do, Usopp. From this moment on, The Straw Hat Pirates...are disbanded."

**To Be Continued...**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"From this moment on…the Straw Hat Pirates…are disbanded."

Luffy's words shocked every single one of the Straw Hats.

They all felt like a bullet just pierced through their hearts.

None of them ever expected Luffy to say those words.

He loved being a pirate.

Heck, his dream was to be King of the Pirates.

This couldn't be the Luffy they all knew and loved.

Something was wrong.

They knew it.

"Luffy…" Nami whispered. "You're not serious…"

"I am…Nami." He responded in the same tone he started with.

It sounded sad.

But there was also something else in it.

Nami didn't know what it was, but she knew it was the first time hearing such a tone in his voice.

"No…it can't be…Luffy…" Chopper started crying.

"I'm sorry…Chopper…" Luffy apologized. "I'm sorry…I hope that all of you complete your dreams…" Luffy told them before beginning to walk toward the railing.

He heard their cries of protest.

He didn't stop and continued walking.

"Santoryu…Hyakuhachi Pound Ho!" Luffy stopped and watched as three air compressed projectiles flew by him, cutting up some trees that were in its path.

The crew all let out gasps as Zoro pointed his swords at Luffy, his bandanna on his head and a very vicious glare came from his eyes.

"Luffy…" Zoro angrily said his name. "…I won't accept this!" Luffy didn't move. "I don't know what the hell is up with you, but don't think I'll let you leave this crew!"

"Zoro…" Luffy spoke.

"Urusai! Even if I have to beat you until you are an inch from death, I will make you explain everything! We joined this crew because we believed that you could get us to complete our own dreams and in return we help you in yours. However, this…I don't know what happened to you, but I will not let you disband this crew." Zoro angrily yelled at him.

"Zoro…" Luffy tried again, but Zoro ignored him.

Zoro charged at Luffy.

"Wait! Zoro!" Usopp yelled, trying to stop him.

"Zoro…STOP!" Zoro's eyes widened as Luffy let out a huge blow of Haki in his direction, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

Zoro looked into Luffy's eyes and made a noise in surprise.

The eyes that were so full of life on a daily basis were no longer there.

No…they were different.

The Haki was also different.

He could tell that it was a different Haki from the one he usually used against his opponents.

Luffy turned his head back around once Zoro stopped in place.

"I'm sorry…" Luffy said before jumping of the Thousand Sunny.

The crew all stood there stunned at his words.

Chopper's cries of sadness were the only noise being made amongst the group.

Soon, Usopp and Brook joined him, letting their own tears fall.

"J-Just what the hell is going?" Franky asked, breaking the non-crying silence.

"I never have seen that rubber idiot so serious before…" Sanji muttered.

Nami was speechless.

She didn't know what she could say at this point.

She knew something was wrong with Luffy and she didn't act upon it.

All she did was ask her now former Captain whether or not if he was okay and if she could do anything to help him.

She should have done more.

She beat herself up for that.

If only she did something…told the others that Luffy was acting strange before it was too late.

However, now it was too late.

Luffy left them.

He disbanded the crew just like that.

It wasn't right.

"That wasn't Luffy…" The crew all made noises in surprise at Zoro's words.

"W-What?" Usopp asked through his sobs.

"What the hell are you talking about, Marimo?" Sanji asked as well.

"Luffy's eyes…there was something strange about them…" He started. "..as well as his Haki…it's almost like it was someone else in Luffy's body…"

"What the hell are you saying? You're not making any sense!" Sanji argued, confused.

"I can't explain it any clearer than that, eyebrow freak!" Zoro angrily replied. "All I know is this…this wasn't Luffy's choice! Someone made him do this!"

"Huh?" The crew all gasped.

"W-Who?" Usopp asked.

"It could be that man…" Robin suggested as she crossed her arms.

"You think so?" Franky asked, scratching his head.

"No…it is mostly definitely him…" Zoro told them.

"How can you be so sure?" Brook asked.

"Because he knew about Luffy. He knew where he was and the fact that he told us that he would meet us back in the ship also confirms that." Zoro explained. "That man…is responsible for all of this!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did you do it?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Good! It was a wise choice. After all, you don't want to harm your friends, right?"

"No…"

"Haha! Don't worry…I'm sure they will be just fine! After all, don't they have dreams they want to follow."

"Yeah…"

"Hehe, now that we have that out of the way. Let us begin. The plan to destroy the World Government. They will pay for what they have done to all of us!"

"YEAH!"

"Yeah…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did any of you find him?" Usopp asked as he reunited with Robin and Brook.

They both shook their heads no.

"Damn it! Where could he be?" Usopp wondered.

"Maybe we should head over to the village…maybe someone might tell us something."

"But they attacked us before…what if they try to kill us again…even though I'm already dead…yohohohoho!" Brook joked in a somewhat serious manner.

"It's still worth a shot…" Robin told him.

The three looked at each other and nodded.

They headed toward the direction of the town.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oi Nami!" Zoro spoke to her.

"What is it?" She asked as she stopped searching to look at him.

"Did Luffy say anything to you?" He asked.

Nami bit her bottom lip.

"Luffy…hasn't been himself the past few days…" Zoro raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything to let her continue. "…he told me he kept getting these nightmares about Ace's death and then…he started getting sick…"

"I see…" Zoro sighed. "Did he say anything else?"

"I tried asking if there was any way I could help him, but he kept rejecting my offer…" She told him.

"That sounds like him…" He responded to her words.

"Yeah…but I really wanted to help him after all he's done for me and everyone else…" Nami frowned.

"Luffy is the type of guy who would want to deal with his own problems by himself…you can call it pride if you want…" Zoro explained.

Nami didn't like that answer.

Pride…that word sounded so stupid especially when a man used it.

She could never understand that about men.

"Nami! Zoro!" The two turned their heads to an approaching Usopp, Robin and Brook.

"Did you find him?" Nami asked, hoping.

Usopp shook his head.

"No…but we've been thinking about going to see if any of the villagers know anything.

"What? But they attacked us…" Zoro argued.

"Maybe so…but they're probably the only ones who know what is going on around here." Usopp said.

"Whatever…let's go." He said and started walking in the opposite direction of the village.

"It's this way you moron!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The village…is empty…" Nami made a clear observation.

"Where did everyone go?" Usopp asked, looking around, his newly and improved Kabuto at the ready.

"It's you guys…" The five of them turned their heads and prepared to strike in case it was an enemy.

"Ah! Macao!" Zoro and Nami both said.

"Y-Yeah…" He nodded and started walking toward them.

"Hold it!" Usopp shouted, putting a hand up. "How do we know you're not here to ambush us?"

"No…you got it all wrong!" Macao told them. "Those people were not villagers! They were…how should I explain it…?" He pondered.

"Do you mind telling us what happened to the village we saw?" Robin suddenly asked.

Macao raised his head to look at her.

"Huh? Why do you ask, Robin?" Nami questioned her decision.

"It might tell us just what is going on around here." Robin answered her. "So?"

Macao nodded his head. "Alright…I'll tell you all I know…but will you help us?" Macao asked.

"That depends on what you want us to do." Zoro answered.

"Yes…well let me start from the beginning…"

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Sanji...what do you think is wrong with Luffy?" Chopper asked as the two continued to search for their captain.

"Who knows?" He replied. "All I know is that when I do find him, I'll kick that rubber idiot in the head."

"Hehe..." Chopper chuckled at his threat. "I wonder how everyone else is doing?"

"I'm sure Nami-swan and Robin-chwan are doing their best to find him." Sanji told him.

"Heh? What about the others?" Chopper asked.

"Like hell those idiots would find him." Sanji remarked and Chopper sweat dropped.

Just then, the two of them heard a sound and turned in the direction in came from. "What is that?" Chopper asked.

"Only one way to find out." Sanji said and the two ran in the direction.

When they arrived, their eyes widened.

"W-What is this?" Chopper asked.

Below them stood a whole army of men and women who stood in lines like a military army would do before their commander would make a speech.

"An army?" Sanji asked.

Chopper looked around the army and then his eyes widened. "Luffy..."

"Huh? Where?" Sanji asked looking for him.

"There...in the front..." Chopper raised his paw to point.

Sanji followed his paw and then spotted the familiar Straw Hat. "Oi...oi...what the hell is Luffy doing down there?" Sanji asked in surprise.

"Luffy..." Chopper frowned.

"Our time has come!" Sanji and Chopper made a noise in surprise as the old man from before appeared in front of the army.

"That's..." Sanji narrowed his eyes at him.

"The time for our revenge against The World Government has finally come! We...were treated like outcasts by them for being what we are!" The former leader of the village shouted. "However, we will not stand for this! We will rule this world! Now that we have the one, the chosen one, who will lead us to victory! Mugiwara no Luffy! He is our chosen one!"

"Uwaaahhh!" The army all roared.

"Chosen one?" Sanji furrowed his eyebrow. "What the hell is he talking about?"

"Luffy..." Chopper frowned.

"But first things first!" The leader lowered his arm. "Looks like we have some eavesdroppers!" Sanji and Chopper made a noise in surprise as they saw him look in their direction.

The army all turned their heads to stare at them as well.

Luffy clenched his fists at the sight of two of his comrades. "Why are they here...I told them to leave..." Luffy muttered.

"What do we do, Sanji?" Chopper asked, backing away.

"Shit...we can't handle all of them with just the two of us...not only that...but we also got him to deal with..." Sanji told him. "We have to go back and regroup with the others..." He told him.

Chopper nodded his head and before the army made a move, they turned and ran off to find the others.

"Should we go after them?" The man to the leader's left asked.

"Let Hisho take care of them...we have more important matters to attend." He told him and the man nodded his head.

Luffy clenched his fists tightly. 'Damn it...'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"About 20 years ago...this island used to be home to a facility that the World Government used to do some experiments on..." Macao began.

"Experiments? W-What kind?" Robin asked, intrigued.

"They were experiments that tested the effects of Devil Fruits in specific people." He told her. "The Leader was the head scientist to these experiments. He was a brilliant man who studied days and nights about Devil Fruits. However, he became obsessed by them. He then started experimenting on certain devil fruit users behind the World Governments back. Experiments that I'm afraid not even I know about." He lowered his head. "Then...one day...something happened..."

"W-What? Usopp stuttered.

"The World Government sent a man to the facility. We couldn't see who he was because he was wrapped around in a straight jacket and had a black rag over his head. Leader told us to leave him alone with the man, so we did. We don't know what happened next, but...we heard an explosion. Then, a loud roar was heard coming from the Leader's laboratory. The next thing any of us knew, another explosion occurred and then...everything became blank. When we awoke, the village where we brought our supplies and the facility ended up like they were...but...we were all still alive. It was a miracle...but then we found out that it was no miracle...it was a curse..."

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

Macao looked at them and sighed. "What I'm about to show you might be a little disturbing..." He said and raised his right arm.

The Straw Hats looked on with widened eyes and shock has Macao's arm turned Gray and transformed itself to what looked like the arm of a demon.

"W-W-What the hell?" Some of the Straw Hats said in shock.

"This is the curse that everyone on this island has to deal with. However, Leader is planning on using this power to get revenge on the World Government." Macao told them. "But...for some reason...I don't think that is the real reason why he is doing this."

"What do you mean?" Franky asked.

"I don't know...I don't know..." Macao answered truthfully.

"But what does our Captain have to do with this?" Zoro asked.

"Because...Leader thinks that your Captain is the Chosen one." Macao answered and it only made them confused.

"Chosen one? What the hell is that?" Zoro asked.

"I'm not entirely sure...but...what I do know is this...your Captain has the same curse as us." Macao revealed and it caused them to gasp in shock.

"What? But how is that possible?" Nami asked. "I'm pretty sure he never been to this island before. Not only that, but he wasn't even born yet."

"Yes that is true...however...we learned something while we were doing our study...every single devil fruit has a demon residing in them...that is why they are called Devil Fruits." Macao told them.

"What? Then that means that Luffy, Brook, Chopper and Robin have demons living inside of them." Usopp exclaimed as Brook and Robin gulped.

"So frightening..." Brook shivered.

"No...not necessarily..." Macao corrected him. "Usually devil fruit users never experience the threat of the demon inside of them...however in special cases...the demon starts to gain power..."

"What special cases?" Robin asked.

"It depends...we don't know exactly what triggers this, but we do know one cause...the demon usually starts to gain power after a traumatizing incident that the user experiences..." Macao answered.

"A traumatizing event...ah!" The others looked at her. "Ace..." The others made a quiet noise in surprise.

"I see...it started right after Ace died..." Zoro said as he crossed his arms.

"Ace?" Macao asked.

"Mm." Usopp nodded. "Ace was Luffy's brother and he died while protecting his brother..."

"Ah! You must mean what happened two years ago..." Macao realized what he was talking about. Usopp nodded his head. "I see...that would most definitely be the trigger."

"But wait a minute...that happened two years ago...why would it suddenly start now..." Nami asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's because of something Leader did." Macao told her. "I'm not sure what it is, but he's most definitely the culprit."

"That bastard..." Zoro cursed.

"Something still doesn't make sense..." Usopp said. "Why would Luffy side with him?"

"I don't know...it could be because he told your captain that he could help him or told him something that gave him no choice but to join him." Macao answered.

"I see..." Zoro muttered. "If by chance he threatened to kill us or something and Luffy knew he had no choice..."

"Then...Luffy said all those things to protect us..." Usopp finished. "...Luffy..."

"That baka..." Nami clenched her fists. "Why does he always do that? Why is he so selfish? Why doesn't he trust us?"

"I don't mean to interrupt or anything..." Macao intervened. "But I think your Captain might be afraid of losing any of you...I think he doesn't want to experience the same thing he did with his brother...I know that feeling too..."

"Macao...?" Nami muttered his name.

"Ah! Sorry about that! I was just reminiscing old memories that's all." Macao chuckled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oi mina!" The group turned their heads to see Chopper and Sanji running toward.

"Oh...look...it's Chopper..." Zoro muttered.

"What about Sanji?" Usopp sweat dropped.

"We found Luffy!" Chopper shouted to them.

"You did?" Nami exclaimed in relief.

Suddenly, both Zoro and Sanji sensed someone in the area.

Zoro pulled out his swords and blocked the sudden attack that aimed for Robin.

Sanji blocked his attacker's attack with his leg.

"W-What's going on?" Usopp panicked.

Zoro glared at the attacker and noticed that his arm was gray and looked like a demon's arm, just like Macao's arm was. 'Interesting...' He smirked.

Sanji too noticed that his attacker was the same, only he was surprised by it. "W-What the hell is with his arm?"

"Oh no..." Macao muttered and the others looked at him. "They're part of his division..." Macao shook in fear.

"W-Who?" Usopp asked.

"You disappoint me...Macao." Macao's eyes widened as he turned around to stare at the man behind him.

"H-Hisho..." The man named Hisho smirked.

"That's my name...don't wear it out..." He chuckled as the Straw Hats all stared at him. "So...these are his crew members...pretty pathetic if you ask me..."

"What are you doing here...?" Macao stuttered.

"Why? Because I was asked to by Leader, of course." Hisho told him. "...and I don't plan to disappoint him...not after everything we have been through...so...Straw Hats...let's see just how powerful of a crew you are...without the help of your Captain."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Zoro swung his swords as he pushed his opponent away.

Sanji did the same, but kicked him away and both Straw Hats glared at the two men. "Oi, aren't you going to tell me about their arms?" Sanji asked him.

"It's too complicated to explain to you." Zoro answered, placing his third sword in his mouth.

"Eh...either that or you don't even know yourself." Sanji retorted.

"Urusai...blond freak."

The two men with demonic arms charged at the two.

"What did you say, shithead?" Sanji retorted.

"You heard me, curly brow." Zoro closed his eyes, firing back.

Their opponents started swinging their arms at Zoro and Sanji, but both men quickly struck back with Zoro slicing his opponent and Sanji kicking the other in the neck.

"Hmph...not bad..." Zoro muttered.

"Thanks..." Sanji replied, slightly surprised by the compliment.

"...for a twirling princess..." He should have known better.

"You asshole!" Sanji shouted and tried to kick Zoro, but he blocked his leg with his swords.

"Great...now they're fighting amongst themselves..." Usopp sweat dropped.

"Those bakas..." Nami muttered as well.

"Hahahahaha!" The Straw Hats all turned to looked at the laughing Hisho. "You guys really are as crazy as they say you are...but...don't think that you defeated them so easily..."

Zoro and Sanji's eyes widened in shock as the two men they thought they defeated appeared in front of them and slashed both Straw Hats across their waists.

"Zoro! Sanji!" Usopp shouted as he watched the two back away and grab their waists.

"Hahahaha! You really shouldn't underestimate your opponents. I thought you two would know that after all those fights you were in..." Hisho laughed.

"That bastard..." Sanji cursed.

Zoro didn't say anything and stood up.

He then charged at his opponent. "Santoryu...Yasha Garasu!" He shouted and spun like a rolling wheel and started thrusting his swords at his enemy.

The man used his speed to try and dodge the attacks, but Zoro was too fast for him and was left with a bunch of cuts all around his body.

"Suge...Zoro is serious..." Chopper commented in slight fear as Zoro glared at the man on the ground.

"Yohohoho...scary..." Brook agreed.

"Too bad it would take more than that..." Hisho told them and Zoro's eyes widened in shock as the man stood up and his wounds began to quickly heal.

"No way..." Zoro muttered.

"Quick regeneration." Robin said.

"No way...what is he?" Chopper said with his eyes wide in shock.

"We are what the World Government fears." Hisho answered. "Pirates? Hah! They don't even compare to what we can do! We are the new breed of demons that will rule this world! Once we destroy the World government...we will be the ones to take over and make this our world!"

"You bastard..." Franky gritted his teeth in anger.

"Of course...such a thing can't happen without the man we call the Chosen One." He chuckled. "So, in a way...I must thank you...thank you for bringing the chosen one to us!"

"Luffy..." Nami muttered in sadness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy stared in the direction that Hisho and his nakama were fighting it out.

"You seem surprised that they decided to stay..." The Leader of the demon army said to Luffy as he walked toward him.

Luffy didn't answer him.

"I see...the silent treatment..." The Leader sighed. "If you are so worried about them...why don't you go see how they are doing..." He told him with a smirk.

Luffy made a noise in surprise.

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

Luffy clenched his fists and ran.

"Why are you letting him go?" One of the other high members of the army asked.

"No reason...just thought that he should see his nakama one more time..." He turned away and had a smug look on his face as he walked away.

The man smirked. "I see..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Zoro! Sanji!" Chopper, Usopp and Nami shouted as they watched both men fall to their knees, clutching each of their wounds.

The two men smirked down at them.

No matter what Sanji or Zoro did, the wounds they inflicted on them would only heal.

It pissed both of them off.

"Damn this..." Zoro muttered, getting up.

"What the hell do we do?" Sanji wondered.

"Hahahahaha! Is this really what the famous Straw Hat pirates? If you ask me, it's pathetic!" Hisho laughed.

"Urusai!" Zoro angrily yelled.

He then closed his eye and concentrated.

"Eeeh? What exactly do you plan on doing?" Hisho asked, looking at Zoro.

Zoro didn't respond and only concentrated on what he was doing.

"Oi, what are you planning?" Sanji whispered.

Again, Zoro didn't respond.

The others looked at Zoro with questionable looks, also wondering what he was planning.

He then opened his eye and glared at his opponents.

Both men looked at him, prepared themselves for what he was planning on doing.

Zoro lowered his arms slightly and then positioned themselves into the pose that he took to deliver his Oni Giri attack.

Both men saw this and planned on attacking him before he would deliver his attack and charged at Zoro.

"Santoryu...Rengoku Oni Giri!" He shouted and leaped into both opponents, slashing them while doing so and cutting both of them, leaving them with a bloody 'X' shaped mark on their chests.

"You mean to tell me that that was what you were concentrating so much on doing...you must be a real idiot to just keep attacking them knowing they'll only heal their wounds." Hisho laughed.

"I hate to admit it...but he's right...Zoro..." Franky said. "What were you trying to accomplish?"

"Oi...look!" Sanji said, his eyes widened in surprise as he pointed at the two men.

They all looked at them and saw that their wounds weren't healing.

"W-What? Why aren't their wounds healing?" Hisho asked in shock.

The two men spat out blood and fell to the ground, clutching their chests in pain.

Zoro turned his head to look at them and then looked down at his swords. 'I see...so that works against them...'

"Oi Zoro...what did you do?" Usopp asked.

Zoro turned around and started walking toward Hisho.

He passed by the others and stood face to face with Hisho.

"You bastard...what the hell did you do?" He asked.

"I don't know how to fully control it yet...but...it seems my idea worked..." Zoro started. "You guys might think you are invincible...but it seems like there is something that can counter this regeneration of yours."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Zoro smirked. "Let me show you..." He then charged at Hisho.

"Alright then you pathetic swordsman...lets see what you got!" Hisho ripped this sleeve off and transformed his arm into that of a demons.

Hisho charged at him.

"Santoryu...Hyakuhachi Pound Ho!" Zoro swung his swords and shot out three compressed projectiles at Hisho.

He dodged the projectiles fluently and then swung his arm.

Zoro blocked the fist with his swords and then closed his eye.

'This again...' Hisho thought and waited for what Zoro was planning on doing.

"Santoryu..." Zoro opened his eye and pushed the man's arm back. He then placed his swords in position. "...Tora Gari!"

"That won't work you fool! My arm is different then theirs! Unlike them, my arm's skin is tougher than steel!" Hisho shouted and placed his demon arm in front of him to block his attack.

However, that proved to be a mistake as the attack created three slashes across the arm.

Hisho shouted in pain as blood spurt from the wounds.

He fell to his knees and clutched his arm tightly.

His eyes widened when the wounds weren't healing. "What the hell did you do?"

"I wasn't sure what it was called at first...but...after seeing what Luffy could do...then I knew that I was able to do it as well...but I can't control it as well as he could just yet..." Zoro answered.

"Huh? You don't mean..." Hisho eyes widened.

"Aa! Haki!" He revealed.

"Eeeh? Zoro can use haki too!" Most of the Straw Hats shouted in shock.

"I see..." The all to familiar voice caused everyone to turn their heads to see Luffy standing in front of a hut, his eyes shield by his treasure.

"Luffy!" Usopp, Chopper and Nami shouted in joy at seeing their captain, well former captain.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hisho gritted his teeth in anger at him. "Did the Leader send you?"

Luffy didn't answer him and instead turned to face his former nakama. "I thought I told you guys to leave this island..."

"We're not leaving without you!" Nami yelled.

"That's right!" Usopp said as Chopper, Franky and Brook nodded their heads. "We know a little bit about what's going on, but whatever that guy told you, don't believe him!"

"Usopp is right Luffy..." Nami added. "I know the feeling of losing someone...I can help you Luffy..."

"Nami..." Luffy muttered her name. "I'm sorry..." He apologized and then he appeared in front of her.

Nami gasped in surprise at his sudden appearance in front of her.

She watched as he lifted his Straw Hat off his head and placed it on top of hers.

"Luffy..." She muttered as she tried to get a good look at his face, but the brim of the hat was blocking her view.

"I'm sorry Nami...but...I can't...it's too late for me..." Nami's eyes widened at his words. "...please leave...please continue traveling around the world to complete your map and helping the others accomplish their dreams...also take a good care of this hat...if you see Shanks...tell him that I'm sorry I failed to keep our promise...I'm sorry...Nami...mina...sayonara..." With that, he turned around and started walking away.

Nami couldn't help the tears flow down her face.

It hurt.

Her chest hurt so much.

Why wouldn't he let her help him...?

Why...?

"Luffy..." She cried his name.

"Hmph...I don't know why he came, but don't think this is over...Roronoa Zoro..." Hisho said as he clenched his fists and the Straw Hat's eyes widened as his entire body began transforming.

"W-What the hell...?" Zoro's eyes widened as Hisho became a full blown demon.

"Zahahahaha! Now then...let's really start this fight!"

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Zahahahaha! Prepare yourselves, Straw Hats!" Hisho roared in his monster form as his skin was gray, his body about twice the size as he originally was and his red piercing eyes glared down at the Straw Hats.

"AAAAHHHHHH MONSTER!' Usopp and Chopper both cried out as they hugged each other in fear.

"N-No way...h-how can someone become this?" Nami asked as she stared wide eyed at the monster in front of her.

Zoro was shocked as well, but stayed calm and collected, prepared to protect his comrades no matter who he had to face.

Sanji walked forward and stood next to Zoro as he too was prepared to protect his nakama...mostly Nami and Robin. "Oi...moss head...we can't lose this fight..."

"No shit...curly eyebrow..." Zoro replied as he placed his treasured sword into his mouth.

"Go Zoro! Sanji! Kick his ass!" Usopp and Chopper shouted, hiding behind Franky's big body.

"Stop hiding..." Franky sweat dropped at them.

"Zahahahaha! Get ready to die!" He roared again and this time slammed his hand down on the spot where Zoro and Sanji stood.

The two of them jumped out of the way to avoid the hand and then prepared themselves to strike Hisho at the same time.

"Santoryu...Enbima Yonezu Oni Giri!"

"Diable Jambe...Mouton Shot!"

Both men initiated their attacks on Hisho, connecting successfully with their own attacks.

"Zahahahaha! Do you really think that hurt, you shitheads!" He roared and then smacked both of them back down to the ground.

"Zoro! Sanji!" Usopp shouted.

"This is bad..." Franky stated as he felt a drop of sweat fall down his temple.

"W-What should we do?" Chopper cried.

Nami clenched her fists tightly.

'Luffy...we need you...please...'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luffy continued walking back toward the camp.

He felt like shit.

He hated what he did to his nakama.

He had no choice.

If he continued to go with them, he was going to hurt them.

He stopped and clenched his fists.

"Damn it..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oi...can't you use that haki again..." Sanji asked as he felt blood trickled down his temple.

"I told you...I can't control it as well as Luffy can...I don't even know if I could do it again..." He replied.

"Damn..." Sanji cursed as he never took his eyes off Hisho.

"Zahahahahaha! This is too pathetic! Is this really all you got? I heard the Straw Hat pirates were strong, but I guess those were just rumors!"

"Oi...cook...I'll knock him down to the ground...and then..."

"Ah...I get what you are trying to do...but make sure you get your part done..."

"Zahahahaha! I don't know what your planning, but it won't work!" Hisho roared as he opened his and everyone's eyes widened as they saw something form in his mouth.

"W-What is that?" Brook asked.

"Aaaahhhh!" Zoro and Sanji's eyes widened as a beam of some sort shot out of his mouth at them and they quickly avoided it, but were blown far from each other.

"A beam!" Franky shouted in shock.

"You got to be kidding me!" Usopp stated, his entire body shaking.

"Cook!" Zoro shouted as he charged at Hisho.

"Right!" Sanji began spinning.

"Santoryu...Ul-Tora Gari!" Zoro attacked.

"It won't work you fool!" Hisho yelled, but unknowing to him, Zoro managed to put haki into the attack and it caused some wounds on his body. "Gaah!" Hisho tumbled and fell down to the ground as blood spurted out from his wounds on his chest.

"Cook!"

Diable Jambe..." He began as he jumped up in the air and used his sky walk to get as high up as he could. "...Poêle à Frire: Spectre!" Sanji kicked Hisho repeatedly from high up in the air.

"Go Sanji!" Usopp, Chopper and Franky cheered.

"Waaah!" Sanji roared as he increased his kick speed. He then stopped and prepared his finishing blow. "Bien Cuit: Grill Shot!" He slammed his foot straight down at the center of Hisho's new wounds.

"He did it!" Usopp shouted.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Cook! Get out of the way!" Zoro told him and he did what he was told and jumped away. "Santoryu...Crossing the Six Paths!" He made six different cuts on Hisho that were so quick none of the others saw it.

The attack caused a small dust cloud to form, shrouding Hisho from view as Zoro landed back down on his feet.

"I-Is he d-dead...?" Usopp asked, gulping.

The two of them waited for an response from the monster.

A sudden loud and piercing roar erupted as some of the Straw Hats had to cover their ears.

"You insolent pieces of shit!" Hisho rose from the ground. "How dare you do this to me?"

"You got to be kidding me..." Sanji mouthed out in shock.

Zoro clenched his swords tightly and glared at the monster who withstood both his and Sanji's attacks.

"You will pay for this!" He roared again and raised his to dealt a strong fist down at them.

"Watch out!" Usopp shouted.

"Busoshoku: Koka...Gomu Gomu no...Jet Bazooka!" Everyone's eyes widened as Hisho was suddenly struck by a force so strong that he felt like his inner organs were exploding.

The force caused him to spit out blood as he fell down to the ground with a loud crash.

The Straw Hats were in shock at what happened and then turned around to see Luffy in the all to familiar pose he used when he attack in Gear Second.

"LUFFY!" "LUFFY-SAN!" Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Brook and Nami shouted in joy at seeing their Captain.

"Why is he back all of a sudden?" Zoro wondered, finding his return suspicious.

"Gah! Hisho spat out more blood as he felt himself losing his strength and reverting back to his original form. "W-What the hell...w-was that...you traitor?"

"I told him to do it." Hisho's eyes widened as he heard the leader's voice next to him.

"W-What?" Hisho asked with widened eyes.

"Oi..it's that guy..." Sanji muttered as they all turned to look at him.

"What do you mean you told him to?" Hisho asked.

"Like I said...I told him to get rid of you..."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because you were holding us back..." He responded coldly.

"W-What...?" Before Hisho knew what happened, several of the man's henchman came out of nowhere and stabbed Hisho with their swords.

The Straw Hats couldn't believe their eyes at what they saw.

"This bastard..." Sanji growled in anger.

"This bastard doesn't give a damn about his comrades..." Franky replied to what he saw.

"You got to be kidding me!" Usopp yelled. "Why would you do that? Luffy! Why would you join someone like him?"

Luffy stayed silent.

Nami hated this.

Luffy would never side with someone who did such a thing to their nakama.

Yet, he isn't doing anything.

He was yelling or trying to pick a fight with him.

No, he wasn't doing anything and what was worse was that he helped him get rid of Hisho.

This wasn't Luffy.

This wasn't the Luffy who saved her from Arlong's control.

This definitely wasn't the same rubber idiot who always cared about his comrades.

This very thought made her anger grow at a fast pace.

"Luffy..." She growled.

"Luffy!" Usopp tried calling out to him.

"Don't bother...he won't come back to you weaklings no matter what you did!" The leader told them as he looked at them.

Not unless Nami had something to do with it.

She couldn't take it anymore and started walking toward Luffy.

Luffy lifted his head to see her walking toward him. 'Nami...what are you...?'

"Nami-san..." Sanji muttered as he watched her.

"Luffy..." He heard her growl as she was getting closer to him.

When she stood in front of him, she hid her face behind the Straw Hat that Luffy entrusted her with.

Then to everyone's shock, she slapped him with so much force that the sound emitting from the contact could have been heard throughout the world.

Luffy's face was in shock.

Never once did he remember her smacking him like this.

She did smack him from time to time, but this was different.

He stumbled a bit, but remained on his feet.

He put a hand to his reddened cheek and then looked at her with widened eyes.

"N-Nami..."

"Baka..." She whispered. "Stop being an idiot...this isn't you...this isn't the person who saved me from Arlong...the person who changed my views on pirates...the person who saved me countless times..." He noticed that her body was shaking as she spoke.

Nami wasn't sure where she was going with this...but there was something she had to say.

Something that she felt like she had been holding in all this time without even knowing it.

"Nami..." She heard him saying her name again.

The feeling in her chest was getting looser and looser as she was making up her mind.

She didn't know why it took her this long to find out, but she knew it now.

The feeling in her chest that she had been experiencing the past few days made her wonder what it was, but after everything that had happened, she knew what this worried feeling really was.

It wasn't for a nakama.

"The person...who I fell in love with."

"...Eh?"

**To Be Continued...**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"W-W-What?" Luffy stuttered in complete shock as he still had his hand on the cheek that Nami slapped.

"Oi...did Nami-san just say what I think she just said...?" Sanji asked the others, his cigarette he recently just placed in his mouth fell to the ground.

Zoro and Robin both stared at the two with curious eyes as they awaited what would happen next.

The others had looks of shock on their faces.

Their jaws were dropped onto the floor and their eyes were popped out of their heads.

"I love you...you rubber idiot..." She muttered, able to say those three words much easier now.

"Nami...I..." Luffy didn't know what to say.

He knew what love meant.

He wasn't that much of an idiot.

After all, Hancock always told him that she loved him countless times and even mentioned marriage.

It did confuse him though.

"You don't have to say anything..." She told him, which caused him to make a noise in surprise. "...I just want you to come back to us...please...Luffy...we need you...I need you..."

Luffy felt conflicted.

He wanted to help them, he really did.

He wanted to come back to them and let it just be like the good old days.

But he couldn't.

He didn't want them to get hurt because of him.

"I...I..."

"Luffy...I can help you...I just need you to trust me...I know what you are going through more than anyone...please Luffy...let me help you...let me help the person who I have these feelings for..."

To hear her talk like this was too much for him.

He knew she could help him, but he didn't want her to get hurt.

"Nami..."

She surprised him when she suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Luffy...please...let me help you..."

Luffy was slowly starting to give in.

He knew if there was anything Nami wanted to do for him, it was to help him.

Every member of the crew wanted to help him.

They were his nakama.

They were there for him just like he was there for them.

He realized how much of an asshole he was being not letting them help him.

He would help them despite their protests and now he was doing the same thing.

He had to trust his nakama.

He had to.

"O-Oka..."

**She can't help you...**

Luffy's eyes widened and then clutched his head as the voice that was gone for a while returned.

"Luffy! What's wrong?" Nami asked seeing him suddenly groan in pain and clutch his head.

The others were surprised by this too.

**None of them can help you...**

**Only he can help you...**

"Leave me alone..."

Nami made a noise in surprise as she assumed he was talking to her.

She tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he suddenly slapped it away.

"L-Luffy..." She said in shock.

She touched her hand and felt hurt at what he did.

**She's only telling you all that to break you...**

"No..."

**She doesn't want to help you...**

**All she wants to do is hit you...**

**...punch you...**

**...make you feel like shit...**

**She can't help you...**

"Get out of my head!" Luffy screamed as he gripped his head as tightly as humanly possible.

"Luffy! Tell me what's wrong? I can help you...Chopper can help you...!"

**She's lying to you...**

**She can't help you...**

**None of them can...**

"N-N-No...stop it...please..."

"What's going on with Luffy?" Usopp asked, frowning at how weird he was acting.

"You guys don't get it, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, looking back at the Leader who spoke.

"You think some petty words like that would help your Captain? Please, no medicine on this planet can help him. The Captain you all knew is gone and there is nothing you can do about it! He is our catalyst!"

"Catalyst? For what?"

"A world wide war!"

A collective gasps were heard.

"A World War?" Robin asked, her eyes widened.

"Hahahaha! Yes, that is correct! The World is corrupted and needs to change! The only way for it to happen is by using the catalyst! Straw Hat is that catalyst that we have been looking for this entire time!"

"What the hell does Luffy have to do with that stupid war of yours?" Zoro glared at him.

"It's because he holds the most powerful devil inside of him. The devil knows as Lucifer!"

"L-Lucifer?" Robin gasped in shock.

"Robin? Who is that?" Chopper asked, confused.

"Lucifer...I read about him in some of the Poneglyths I discovered...apparently he was one of the three kings of the Underworld...the others two are Hades and Satan."

"H-Hades and S-S-Satan..." Both Chopper and Usopp shook in fear.

"That is correct...you see...we only need to find one of these three kings and Straw Hat possesses the King named Lucifer inside of him.

"Are you telling me that some demon is inside of that rubber idiot!" Sanji muttered.

"I told you before, the reason why Devil Fruits are called Devil Fruits is because each fruit has the power of a demon. This demon can only resurface when a certain traumatic event occurs to the person. Portgas D. Ace's death was what caused the demon to begin his resurface."

"Oh and what exactly will happen to Luffy?" Sanji asked.

"You should feel lucky I'm even telling you this, but like it matters anyway. You see, once Lucifer gains full control of Straw Hat...well I think you can guess what happens to him..."

Some of the crew's eyes widened in shock.

"You don't mean..."

"Yes...Monkey D. Luffy will die and in his place...Lucifer will rise and the best part of that is...there is nothing any of you can stop this process!" He laughed menacingly.

"Luffy..." Nami felt tears sting her eyes as she heard the story of what will happen to the person she fell in love with.

She watched as he continued to clutch his head in pain.

This wasn't fair.

Why was this happened to Luffy?

Why him of all people?

Luffy was not evil.

He was probably the most pure and innocent person on this planet.

He never held grudges on anyone.

He never killed because he believed that destroying their evil ambitions was a better punishment than death.

The same person who would help anyone no matter who they were.

It just wasn't fair.

She had to help him.

"Luffy..." She called out to him.

"Stay away..." He responded at his name being called.

Nami frowned and felt anger build up.

"Luffy..." She growled.

"Please...don't come near me..." Luffy pleaded with her.

"No!" She suddenly punched him over the head.

"Ite!" He yelled in pain.

"Luffy! I want to help you! If you don't like it then too bad!" She yelled at him.

He looked up at her with widened eyes.

"I don't know what is going on, but I will help you whether you like it or not! After all, isn't that something you did for me too! I told you, back at my home island that I didn't want your help, but you did it anyway! Well this time, I'm going to help you and I won't take no for an answer!"

"Nami..."

"Hey you!" She shouted and pointed her finger at the leader. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about, but let me tell you one thing! Anything is possible! You say we can't help Luffy! You're wrong! Without our help, this idiot would have been dead a long time ago! If we helped him all this time, we can help him now! Right!"

The others smirked. "Right!"

"Nami...everyone..." Luffy stared at them in shock.

The leader gritted his teeth and glared at them, especially at Nami.

"You little bitch!"

"Let me handle this, Father." A man with short brown hair appeared behind his father.

"Are you sure, Krio?"

"Yes, I'm positive. I will deal with them. You go on and get the army ready. I will make sure to bring back Monkey D. Luffy with me as well."

"Very well then, don't fail me."

"I won't." With that, the leader and his subordinates disappeared, leaving only the Straw Hats and Krio.

"You want a piece of us, then come!" Zoro stated as he placed his sword in his mouth.

"Roronoa Zoro..." Krio narrowed his eyes at him.

Zoro kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything suspicious.

However, that was a problem as he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the center of the Straw Hats.

"W-What? How did he?" The others looked in shock.

"One down..." He muttered.

"Gah!" Everyone turned their heads in shock as Zoro screamed in pain as blood spurted out from all the new, sudden cuts that appeared all over his body.

"ZORO!" They screamed a she fell on his knees and then face first to the ground.

"W-What happened?" Franky wondered.

"Now then..." Krio spoke as they all looked at him. "Who's next?"

"Damn you..." Franky growled and charged at him. "Strong Right!" He launched his fist at Krio.

He only stared at the fist before disappearing again.

The fist dropped to the ground as it hit nothing but air and Franky quickly retracted his fist.

Krio reappeared behind him and just like what happened to Zoro, Franky screamed in pain as he was cut apart.

He too fell to the ground defeated.

"Franky!"

"W-What the hell is going on?"

"How is he doing that?"

"Next..." Krio muttered and then eyed Usopp.

Usopp saw his stare and quickly prepared to attack with his new Kabuto.

"Take this! Spec..." He didn't get to finish as Krio did his disappearing act and just like before, Usopp was attacked.

"USOPP!"

Luffy couldn't believe what he was watching.

One by one his friends were being defeated by this single man.

**You see...they can't help you...**

**Only he can help you...**

Luffy gritted his teeth in anger.

He looked up and saw Chopper meet the same fate as the others.

"Damn you!" Sanji roared in anger and spun his leg around. "Diable Jambe!"

However, Sanji soon met the same fate.

"Five down..." He eyed the last remaining three Straw Hats.

Both Robin and Nami backed away from the man as Brook stepped in front of them.

"I will not let you harm any more of my nakama! Even if it's over my dead body! Oh wait...but I'm already dead! Yohohohohoho!"

Krio eyed Brook and then slowly turned around.

The others looked at him in confusion.

They suddenly saw his shoulder's move up and down.

They then heard a sound coming from him.

It was then they noticed the type of sound he was making.

He was laughing with his hand over his mouth.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" They all shouted, except for Robin, in shock.

"I see...but wait I can't see because I don't have any eyes! Yohohohohoho!" His joke resulted in more muffled laughing noises.

"You're kidding...right?" Nami sweat dropped.

"It seems he find's Brook's jokes funny..." Robin stated.

"You got to be kidding..." The others turned their heads to see the others start to rise.

However, the atmosphere around them was different.

In fact, it almost looked like they were very angry.

"You mean..."

"...to tell us..."

"...that this guy..."

"...find's Brook's jokes..."

"..funny?" Zoro ended as the five all glared at him with very fiery aura's surrounding them.

Brook fell face first at how cruel his crew mates were being. "T-That is so cruel that my heart is hurting...oh wait...I don't have a heart! Yohohohohoho!"

Krio suddenly couldn't hold it anymore and just went to a full blown laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

'There is no way...we are going to lose to this guy...!' The five all agreed as they prepared to strike Krio with all they had.

They all attacked at the same time, thinking they had the advantage because he was in a state of never ending laughter.

However, they were all wrong, as Krio disappeared again and just like what happened earlier, the crew were met dealt with in the same manner as before.

"Everyone!" Luffy cried out in shock.

Krio was still chuckled as he looked at the four remaining Straw Hats.

He then eyed Brook.

"Ahhhh..."

Krio couldn't keep a straight face as he fell to the floor and laughed his ass off as he pounded the ground with his fist.

Brook could only sweat drop.

"Oi, oi, oi..."

"Brook! This is your chance!" Nami told him.

"Right!" He stated and took out his sword from his cane. "Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri!"

He charged at Krio and from the naked eye looked like he walked past him.

The others were expecting this victory to go the Brook, but something happened that not even Brook knew how it was done.

Brook's clothes suddenly had new cuts all over them as he fell down to his knees.

"I cannot believe I lost...to someone who likes my jokes..." He said and fell face first like the others.

Krio then stood up as his chuckling stopped.

He turned back around the face the remaining four who were there,

Nami, Robin, Macao and Luffy.

Macao, who was silent the entire time was shaking in fear as Krio eyed him.

Just his stare was enough to make Macao suddenly faint and fall to the ground.

"That makes seven..."

Luffy couldn't believe what was happening.

Everyone was defeated so easily by this single man.

The same dreaded feeling he had back when Kuma was making his nakama disappear resurfaced and it caused the headache in his head only to worsen.

Krio eyed both Nami and Robin.

Robin bit her bottom lip and raised her arms.

Her arms suddenly appeared on Krio's arm and locked them behind his back.

"I don't know how you did all of that, but I assume it had something to do with your arms." She told him.

"That is correct...however, there was no need for you to use your devil fruit power on me. You see, I don't attack women."

"Oh...and why is that?" Robin asked.

"Because every woman I see reminds me of my mother. I loved my mother more than anything and thus I don't harm anyone of the opposite gender."

"Would you mind telling me about your mother?" Nami looked at Robin confused by her purpose.

"She was kind, gentle and she had everything she needed to make me happy. However, she was murdered by Marines."

"I see...so that is why your father wants to start a world war."

"No...my father's reasons are different from mine...however, I won't tell you his reason for doing this." He told her. "Now, please hand over Monkey D. Luffy."

"We refuse!" Nami and Robin both stated.

"Very well then." He then disappeared and reappeared behind Luffy.

Both of them had their eyes widened as they turned around to see Krio slam Luffy's head down at the ground and then pick him up over his shoulder so fast that they would have missed the entire thing if they blinked.

"Let him go!" Nami cried.

"I'm sorry, but...I cannot do that...don't worry about your friends...they are not dead as I do not wish to kill anyone who isn't a Marine officer. I hope we don't meet again." He told them and then disappeared once more, but this time for good.

Nami couldn't believe that Luffy was gone again.

She dropped to her knees and clutched the Straw Hat on her head.

She began crying.

"Luffy..." 

**To Be Continued**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Luffy..." Nami cried as she clenched the Straw Hat on top of her head.

Robin frowned at the crying younger girl and walked over to her.

She knelt down and hugged her, while moving her arm up and down to soothe her. "It's going to be alright, Nami-san." She whispered.

"But..." She sobbed into her shoulder.

Robin smiled at her. "It's going to be alright...I'm sure the others think the same way..." Nami lifted her head to look over her shoulder and her eyes widened as she saw the others on their feet.

"Everyone..."

"That bastard...how dare he make Nami-san cry..." She heard Sanji growl as he lit a cigarette.

"Yohohohoho! That man must have loved my jokes..." Brook commented. "...it's a bit disappointing that he won't be able to hear them again...yohohohoho..."

"Is everybody okay?" Chopper asked.

"Aa...we're fine, Chopper." Usopp answered a she rummaged through his bag.

Zoro eyed the direction he saw the man take Luffy. "Oi, Franky..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"How long can you get Sunny over to where Luffy is?"

"A couple of minutes...why?"

"Because...we're going to need her if we want to get our idiot Captain back." Zoro told him.

"Marimo's right." Sanji agreed, blowing out smoke. "Those bastards are gathering up on the beach on the other side of the island from where Sunny is."

"I see...that sounds SUPA! I'll make sure Sunny is ready for a SUPA fight!" He opened his hand so that his small hand came out to give them a thumbs up.

"Right...Usopp go with Franky..." Zoro told him.

"You got it!"

"Nami and Robin. You go too." He told them.

"I understand." Robin nodded her head.

"No...I'm going with you." Nami told him standing up.

Zoro stared at her and she stared back. "Fine."

"Oi Marimo..." Sanji tried to argue with the swordsman, but he didn't want to hear it from the cook.

"If she wants to come, let her...she might be the only one who could get through that idiot's head..." He told him.

Sanji stared at him before sighing. "Fine...but if anything happens to her, I'm holding you and that rubber idiot accountable..."

"Aa...I got it..."

"Since when was Zoro this cool?" Chopper asked.

"I guess he becomes a totally different person when he's in charge...although I think it should be me, Captain Usopp who should be in charge!" He told him.

"Yohohohoho..." Brook simply laughed.

"If you're done laughing, get going already...we don't have much time..." Zoro told them without turning around to face them.

"R-Right..." Usopp nodded and the three made their way toward Sunny.

"What do we do with Macao-san?" Brook asked.

"Leave him be...he'll come around eventually." Sanji answered.

"Let's go." Zoro told the others. They nodded their heads and headed off in the direction.

"Oi Chopper, make sure Marimo doesn't get lost!" Sanji told him.

"I understand!" Chopper saluted.

"Urusai!"

* * *

><p>"So...did you take care of the Straw Hats?" The Leader asked his son.<p>

"Yes." Krio responded while dropping Luffy on the ground.

"Good." He smirked before looking back at his army. "My fellow soldiers!" He yelled, stretching his arms out. "Today we have found the catalyst to the war we have been aiming for! Finally! We will take down the World Government for everything they have done to us! We can not wait for a group like the Revolutionary Army to take action! We will be the ones who will put an end to this world1 We will create our own new world! The world that is ruled by us! We will kill anyone who was even affiliated with the World Government so that we can cleanse the world of the dark seed! We will strike them with all of our might! We will be victorious! We will create a NEW WORLD ORDER!"

His army let out battle cries as they chanted 'New World Order' time and time again.

Luffy stayed motionless on the ground as the Leader turned around to face.

He smirked and then reached into his pocket to take out a small book.

Krio bit his index finger and started to create a circle around Luffy's unconscious body.

When he finished, he backed away and let his father start an enchantment.

The soldiers all got on one knee as he started chanting something in Latin.

Krio did the same as Luffy started to scream, tremendous pain enveloping his entire body.

Zoro and the others slowly crept closer into the bushes that they hid in and looked down to see what was going on.

"W-What is this?" Nami asked, putting a hand to her mouth in shock.

"I wonder...could this be a way to bring out Lucifer from within Luffy-san?" Brook suggested.

"Nani? You mean they started already?" Chopper asked.

"Aa...looks like it..." Sanji said. "So...what do we do Marimo?"

"The only thing we can do..." He told them and stood up. "We stop this stupid ritual..."

"Huh? Oi...wait a minute!" They all shouted as Zoro jumped. "That idiot!"

"Santoryu Ogi: Rokudo no Tsuj!" Zoro shouted as he bent his body in an S shape while spinning vertically and then slashing at the soldiers that were in the back.

Krio heard the sounds of pain and stood up, turning his head to see Zoro glaring at him.

"I thought you said you dealt with them." His father spoke.

"Is it wise to stop the ritual?" Krio responded.

"It's done...all we have to do now is to hold them until Lucifer completely takes control." He replied as he watched Luffy squirm in pain. "Can you please make sure you deal with them this time?"

"As you wish, Father?" Krio responded and removed his jacket and then disappeared.

"You stupid asshole!" Sanji yelled at Zoro as he kicked one of the soldiers away. "I should kill you!"

"Urusai! If you don't like it, then go back up and hide in the bush curly brow!" Zoro shouted back.

"What did you say, stick boy!" They glared at each as the soldiers were looking at them like they were nut jobs.

"Will you two stop fighting with each other!" Nami yelled at them before bonking them on the head with her staff.

"Take this! Waaahhh! Ouoooooh!" Chopper shouted as he was in his Kung Fu Point.

"Yohohoho! It's time to party!" Brook laughed a he took out his violin and started playing a sonata. He sang and danced as some of the soldiers followed his footsteps. Brook then suddenly appeared behind them, with his sword halfway out of his cane. "Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri." He put his blade back into his cane and when he did, the soldiers he struck were cut down. "Yohohoho!"

"Thunder Tempo!" Nami shouted as she struck down a group of soldiers with her lightning. She turned her head to look over where Luffy was and saw how he cringed. "Luffy!" She shouted toward him.

"Nami-san!" She heard Sanji call her and then looked behind her as a soldier snuck up behind her, getting ready to stab her with a sword. "You bastard! I won't let you harm Nami-san!" Sanji shouted and jumped in the air with a couple of sky walks. He spun in the air as his leg caught on fire. "Diable Jambe: Poêle à Frire: Spectre!" Sanji shouted his attack and kicked the soldier who want to strike Nami. She covered her head as Sanji started to attack several of the soldiers that were around her. Once he stopped, he dropped to the ground and ran over to Nami. "Are you alright, Nami-san?"

"E-Ee..." She nodded her head before looking back over at Luffy.

Sanji followed her and frowned. "Nami-san...do you really love him?"

"Huh?" Nami asked looking up at him, her cheeks slight red at his question. "W-Why are you asking me that right now?"

"Nami-san..." He repeated her name as she looked at him before lowering her head.

She nodded. "I do..." Sanji smiled at her.

"Alright then..." He then glared at the soldiers who were blocking their path to Luffy. "Oi...you bastards...get the hell out of our way..."

"Sanji?" Nami asked as he started to spin around again.

"Let's go, Nami-san!" He told her as he charged forward, kicking any of the soldiers who were in his way.

Nami looked at him and then smiled. "Right!" She stood up and ran toward him.

Zoro saw what they were doing and raised his swords to give them some help.

However, before he could initiate his attack, he sensed someone coming at him.

He redirected his swords and put them up as Krio appeared in front of him and tried attacking Zoro, but he was able to block his attack with his swords. "You bastard..."

Krio glared at him before jumping away.

"I'm amazed that you are still standing." Krio told him.

"An attack like yours wouldn't keep us down." Zoro told him. He then grabbed his bandana and wrapped it around his head. "I definitely won't lose to someone like you...I made a promise to myself and my nakama...I would never lose again and I'm not going to start now."

"Oh? Let's see if I can break that promise of yours." Krio smirked and then charged at Zoro.

"Let's go Brook!" Chopper told Brook as he went into his Horn Point.

"Yohohohoho! Let's ride like the wind Chopper-san!" He sang as he hopped onto Chopper and he started running at the soldiers.

Chopper rammed into the crowd of soldiers as Brook slashed against any of the soldiers that tried to attack them. "Nami! Sanji!" The two turned their heads to see Chopper and Brook coming toward them. "We're here to help!"

"Arigatou Chopper, Brook!" Nami thanked the two.

"Yohohohoho! Anything for you, Nami-san! Maybe after this you can show me your pa-"

"Like hell!" Nami slammed her Clima Tact against his head.

"Yohohoho! You hurt my heart, Nami-san! Oh wait...I don't have a heart! Yohohohoho!"

"Hahahaha!" Krio laughed, able to hear his joke.

"Stop laughing at his joke damn it!" Zoro yelled at Krio. "It's not even funny!"

"That hurts Zoro-san!" Brook shouted.

The Leader watched them with a disgust expression on his face. "These weaklings..." It was at that moment that Sanji kicked away the last of the army as he and Nami jumped onto the stage that he was using, while Chopper and Brook held off any soldiers that tried to reach them. "You brats are really starting to piss me off!"

"That's something we should be saying!" Sanji roared and went to try and kick the Leader, who jumped away from his attack.

"Luffy!" Nami rushed over to her cringing Captain as he shouted in pain.

"You bastard...what the hell did you do to him?" Sanji glared at him.

The leader started to chuckle. "Hahahaha! It doesn't matter because the ritual is complete! Soon, he will become the catalyst to our New World Order!"

"Like hell we'll let you do that! Nami-san...take care of that rubber idiot!" Sanji told her and she nodded.

"Do you really think you cans top me!" The Leader asked as Sanji jumped.

"I won't know if I don't try you bastard! Collier Strike!" He went for a kick to the Leader's neck. The Leader raised his hand and stopped his kick with his bare hand. "W-What?"

"Hmph...you don't stand a chance against me..." The Leader told as he tossed Sanji away from him.

"Sky walk!" Sanji jumped in the air. "Then how about this! Diable Jambe: Poêle à Frire: Spectre!" He kicked his legs down at the Leader.

"It's useless..." The Leader spoke as he was able to dodge every single high speed kick that Sanji delivered.

"I-Impossible..." Sanji muttered in shock. His eyes widened when he felt him grab his leg. "What!"

"Hahaha! I told you it's useless!" He then slammed him down onto the stage.

"Gah!" Sanji screamed in pain a she spat out blood.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami shouted over to him. She then turned to Luffy. "Luffy! Please! We need you! We need your help! Please!" She pleaded.

"Arghhhh!" He screamed.

"Luffy!" She cried out and then suddenly, Luffy stopped moving. "Luffy?" She asked and tried to reach out and touch him. Suddenly, his arm stretched out and grabbed Nami around her neck. Her eyes widened in shock. "L-Luffy...it hurts...w-what are you doing?"

"Sorry...but I'm not this Luffy you speak of." Her eyes widened at the sound of his voice.

"Oh mighty Lucifer! You have awakened!" The Leader grinned as he dropped to a knee and bowed his head.

"L-Lucifer..." Nami repeated as Luffy sat up and then smirked at her. Her eyes widened as she saw red eyes staring back at her. "L-Luffy..."

"Hahahaha! I finally returned...hahahahaha!" He laughed as Nami started to cry.

Was Luffy really...gone?

**To Be Continued...**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Ah...Luffy..." Nami managed to croak out as she felt Luffy's grip tighten around her neck.

"Are you deaf, woman!? I'm not Luffy anymore! The name is Lucifer and you better remember it!" He tighten his hold on her neck.

"Ahhhh!" She screamed in pain before he flung her down tot he ground.

"Nami-san!" Sanji cried out as he managed to get back up on a knee. "You bastard!" Sanji charged toward Lucifer with a whole new burst of energy. He swung his leg at his neck, but just like the Leader did, Lucifer grabbed Sanji's leg and then glared at him with the blood shot red eyes. Sanji felt a chill run down his spine in horror at the look this devil gave him. "You..."

"Well hello there...Sanji..." He spoke in his dark tone. "I must say Luffy sure has picked some weak ass crew members to join him, hehehehe..."

Sanji's eyes widened in shock. "W-What the hell did you just say!?"

"Hahahaha! Allow me to show you..." He tossed Sanji in the air. "...what's it like to be on the receiving end of an attack you all too familiar with..." He smirked before entering Gear Second.

"Crap..." Sanji gritted his teeth in shock as Lucifer started to throw his fists.

"Gomu Gomu no...Jet Gatling Gun!" A barrage of fists connected all over Sanji's body.

"SANJI-KUN!" Nami cried out in horror as she watched helplessly as Sanji's body was being pulverized by the attack.

Blood spat all over the place before he was finally sent flying onto the soldiers, knocking him unconscious.

"SANJI!"

"SANJI-SAN!" Brook and Chopper both cried out in horror.

"HAHAHAHA!" Lucifer laughed maniacally. "See! I told you were too weak!" He then turned toward Brook and Chopper. "Now then...who's next?

"Scary!" Both Brook and Chopper cried out in fear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zoro and Krio stopped their fight to see what occurred between Sanji and Lucifer.

Zoro's eye widened in shock at Luffy attacking the cook. "What the hell is he doing?"

"It seems like Lucifer has taken over..." Krio responded.

"What?"

"You could tell from the colors of his eyes. Lucifer has taken over his body."

"Like hell I'll believe that! Luffy may be an idiot, but there is now way he'll hurt his own crew!"

"You sure have a lot of confidence in your Captain."

"Of course. What kind of pirate would I be if I didn't?" Zoro stated and then pointed his swords at Krio. "What about you?"

"Me? I don't care much about being a follower...the only reason why I'm following my father is because I promised my mother..." He replied.

Zoro's eye widened as he suddenly disappeared before sensing him behind him.

Zoro swiftly brought the sword in his right hand up and blocked his green colored sword of compressed wind.

"So...you are wind." Zoro stated.

"Aa...I ate the Kaze Kaze no mi." He replied before backing away from Zoro.

Zoro smirked. "Good...then this would be a tough challenge for me. I'm glad it won't be so boring."

"Aren't you worried about your friends?" Krio asked.

"Of course I am...however...like I said before...Luffy maybe an idiot...but when it comes down to it...he wouldn't let some devil take over him completely..."

"Such confidence..." Krio smirked before twisting his body. "Kaze Kaze no...Wind Scythe!" A large gust of wind compressed projectiles soared through the air toward Zoro.

"Santoryu...Hyakuhachi Pound Ho!" Zoro released his own projectiles as the projectiles each clashed with each other which caused small shock waves to form and slice anyone who got caught up in it.

As soon as the third projectiles clashed, both fighters clashed with each other once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hahahaha!" Lucifer laughed as he raised his arms up.

"Oh Mighty Lucifer! I am your humbled servant!" The Leader spoke as he knelt down on one knee.

Lucifer turned his head toward the man. "I see...you are the one who brought me out of that idiot's body..."

"Yes, oh powerful one." The Leader responded.

"Tell me servant, what exactly where you planning?"

"To rule this world along side you."

"Hahahaha! I see...you have a big ambition. I like that! However, this army you assembled for me does not look up to the task." He spoke as he surveyed the army.

"Allow me to show you their true power." The Leader asked.

"Very well." The Leader stood up and faced his soldiers.

"Men!" He yelled, gaining everyone's attention. "How about we show our powerful deity our true strength." He smirked.

Nami watched in horror as all the soldiers began turning into the vicious demons just like Hisho did.

"Oh no! MONSTERS!" Brook and Chopper screamed as the enemy they were fighting off were now monsters.

Lucifer smirked in awe. "Hahahaha! This is just wonderful! An army of demons! You have done well." He directed his complimented toward the Leader. "What's your name?"

"It is Atman."

"I see...your name stands for Souls of the dead...very fitting since you gathered me this army of demons!" Lucifer chuckled.

"Thank you, my liege."

"Now then..." He turned his head slightly to make eye contact with Nami. Nami flinched at his gaze. "What should we attack first so that I can evaluate my armies ability? Oh...I know...how about..." He then showed an evil smirk that sent shivers down Nami's spine. "...the entire East Blue?"

Nami's eyes widened in horror as she heard the sound of her bracelet clang against the log pose as the image of Nojiko and everyone else at Cocoyashi popped up in her head. "No..."

"Hahahahaha! I guess that settles it! We are heading tot he East Blue! I can't wait to see the entire East Blue turn red from all the blood we will shed!" Lucifer laughed maniacally.

"I'm sorry my liege...but wouldn't it be wise to simply just attack the World Government's headquarters?" Atman asked.

"Hahaha! That may be so...but I like to have a little fun before going to the Big Dance!" Lucifer laughed.

"I see...I'm sorry for questioning your decision."

"Whatever...just make sure your men are prepared to move out!" He told him.

"As you wish sir!" Atman bowed and went over to his army.

Lucifer then turned around to face Nami as she was in shock. "Now, now woman...don't look so shocked...did you really think I would do nothing about that shitty sea?"

Nami flinched. "Please...don't...Luffy..."

"I told you..." He growled before grabbing her hair and pulling her up to look him in the eyes. "I'm not that idiot!"

"Ahhh!" Nami screamed in pain as she had her eyes shut, refusing to look at his bloodshot eyes.

"Oh that's right...I remember now...you told that idiot that you loved him...hehehe...interesting...I wonder...what will you do if I, Lucifer kissed you right here and now?" At his words, Nami's eyes widened in horror.

"No..." She cried as she felt tears run down her cheeks.

"In fact, why don't I make you my woman? I will let you live in exchange for letting me use your body in any way I want." He whispered into her ear.

Nami felt her stomach churn in disgust.

This wasn't Luffy.

This wasn't the person who saved her from Arlong.

This person was the devil.

'Luffy...please...help me...'

Suddenly, a large shadow appear above them and Lucifer looked up. "Hmmm? Oh...so they finally arrived..." A smirk was placed on his face as he dropped Nami onto the wooden stand.

"Ah!" She screamed at the impact and then looked up to see Sunny dropping into the water in front of the beach.

"We're here!" Franky yelled out a she did his pose on top of the railing.

"Captain Usopp has arrived! All of you should tremble in fear!" Usopp did the same as Robin only smiled at the two from behind them.

"Hahahahaha! Looks like you came to join the party! Too bad you won't last long!" Lucifer yelled at them.

"Huh? Who said that?" Usopp asked looking around.

"It was Luffy." Robin stated as she frowned.

"Huh? Really? That didn't sound like him." Usopp replied.

"Maybe he's doing some SUPER voice!" Franky stated.

"I doubt that..." Usopp sweat dropped.

"Minna! Watch out!" They heard Nami call them and when they turned around to look at her, Lucifer appeared in front of them.

"Sup." He smirked and before Franky and Usopp could respond, he punched them in the stomach.

"Usopp! Franky!" Robin cried as they slammed into the railing across the deck.

"Hahahaha! You two are weaklings as well!" He laughed before looking down at Robin.

"You're the woman who said you heard about me. Tell me...what else do you know?" He smirked.

"You must be Lucifer?" Robin asked, keeping her calm demeanor. He nodded. "Lucifer...one of the three Devils of the Underworld...you, along with Hades and Satan battle each other to see who would take complete control of the Underworld, but...all three of you were eventually sealed away into Pandora's box."

"Oh...so you know that much? Very good..." Lucifer smirked. "However...we weren't exactly sealed away in Pandora's box...no...we were to vicious to be sealed away together in that wretched box...so they decided to seal us away into the Devil Fruits as you call them."

"I see...and who exactly is 'they' you speak of?"

"Why...the idiotic Gods that live in that disgusting place above the earth." He said while looking up at the sky.

"I see..."

"Hahaha! You really are intelligent, especially for being a human...I decided I would spare your life as you can become an asset for me. So...what do you say?"

"I'm sorry...but I can't accept your offer." She said with a smile on her face.

"Oh...pity...I really don't feel like killing someone as intelligent as you, but if you won't join me then I guess I have no choice." He quickly reached out and grabbed her neck.

Robin screamed in pain as she felt his hands tighten around her neck to the point that it was getting difficult to breathe.

"Franky Radical Beam!" Lucifer turned his head to see the attack heading toward him. He smirked before he tossed Robin away and took the full blow of the attack. "Yosha! Got him!" Franky smirked.

"Robin!" Usopp ran over to her as she did her best to catch her breath.

The cloud of smoke dispersed and Franky's eyes bugged out of his head as Lucifer stood there unfazed by the attack.

"Is that really all you got?"

"Damn you..." Franky growled.

"W-What's going on with Luffy?" Usopp asked scared.

"That's not Luffy...that's Lucifer."

"Huh? L-L-Lucifer...you mean that demon that old man was talking about?"

"Ee...it seems he took over our Captain's body."

"No way..."

"Now then...how about I show you what true power is...just like I did to that cook!" He smirked.

"What? What did you do to Sanji?" Usopp screamed.

"Oh...why don't you see for yourself?" Usopp felt a chill run down his spine as he heard Lucifer whisper to him from behind.

Usopp was then suddenly punched in the back and sent flying off Sunny and down next to Nami.

"Usopp!" Nami cried as she crawled over to him. "Are you okay?"

Lucifer then looked down at Robin.

"I'm going to ask again...are you with me...or against me?"

Robin didn't say anything and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Mil Fleur...Stomp!" She created two giants leg behind Lucifer a she turned around to look at them.

He watched as they started to stomp down on him.

He simply raised his hand and stopped her leg from coming down on him. "Do you really think something like this cans top me?" He asked and when he turned around, he saw that she was no longer behind him. Her leg then disappeared. "I see...a distraction...oh well...not like she can get far." He then looked at Franky.

"Looks like your the only one left."

"You bastard...give Mugiwara back!" He shouted, pointing his arm to fire another Franky Radical Beam.

"I wouldn't do anything to damage this ship now would I? If I recall...isn't this ship your dream?" Franky flinched.

'Damn him...'

"Well since you're not going to do it...I might as well do it." He smirked.

"Like hell I'll let you!" Franky charged as Lucifer raised his arm and activated Gear Second.

"Gomu Gomu no..." He dodged a Strong Right from Franky and then appeared behind him. He stretched his arm back and twisted it. "...Jet Rifle!"

"Gah!" Franky screamed in pain as he slammed through the railing and onto the beach.

"Franky!" Brook and Chopper cried out, tired from fighting the powerful demons.

"Hahahahaha!" Lucifer laughed as he stood on top of the railing of Sunny. "You are so weak! I'm amazed at how much that idiot trust all of you!" He laughed and then jumped back onto the stand. "If this is this planet's last hope...then it doesn't stand a chance!" He continued to laugh.

"Luffy..." Nami cried. 'Please...come back to us...this isn't like you...' She clenched the Straw Hat above her head tightly.

"Atman! Is my army ready!?" Lucifer yelled.

"Yes my liege!" He dropped to a knee.

"Good! Get them aboard this ship...we'll be taking it with us to the East Blue! I'll kill the Straw Hats right here and now..." He stated and then started walking toward them.

Nami watched as Lucifer slowly approached them. 'Luffy...'

She had to get him back.

But what could she do?

She then had an idea.

She wasn't sure if it'll work, but she had to at least try.

So, she stood up.

"Oh...are you going to fight back...come on now...you know that there is no chance of you def-' He couldn't finish as Nami ran forward, placed her hands on his cheeks and planted her lips on his.

The conscious crew members all stared in shock at Nami's actions.

'Please...Luffy...come back...' Her eyes widened when she heard the all too familiar voice of the man she fell in love with.

'_**Nami...**_'

To Be Continued...


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

All the conscious Straw Hats widened their eyes.

Even Zoro and Krio stopped their fight to look at what happened in shock.

'_**Nami...**_'

She heard it again.

His voice.

She wanted to hear it again.

So, she kissed him harder.

She could feel Lucifer trying to push her away from, but she made sure to stand her ground.

'_**Nami...**_'

There it was again.

She couldn't help but cry.

He was still alive.

Lucifer finally was able to get Nami off of him and pushed her away as she fell to the wooden floor. "You damn woman!" He growled as he wiped his mouth with his forearm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"He's alive..."

"What?"

"Luffy...he's still alive..."

"What!? Are you sure, Nami?" Chopper asked her.

"I heard his voice...I heard his voice..." She cried tears of joy.

"You bitch..." Lucifer growled and grabbed her neck, raising her up in the air. Nami screamed from the pain. "So what if he's still alive? Do you think he'll just come out and save all of you!? Don't be stupid! As long as I'm here...I won't let him come out of me!" He yelled at her.

"Agh...Luffy..." She cried out as it became difficult for her to breath.

"I told you he's no-ughh..." His eyes suddenly pulsed. "Aaaahhhh!" Lucifer let go of Nami and placed his hands on his head. He clenched his hair and his entire body started producing sweat. "Gaaaahhhh!"

"My liege...what's wrong?" Atman asked.

"Damn it..." He growled in anger. "AAAAAHHHHH!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

'_Where am I?' Luffy asked as he looked around and saw nothing but darkness._

_'Oi...Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook...where is everyone?' He called out._

_He then suddenly sensed something coming his way and then got hit in the face. 'What the...? Who the hell attacked me?' Luffy yelled and then suddenly was hit again, this time in his back. 'What the hell?' He shouted again. 'Come out you bastard!'_

_'Hehehehe...' He suddenly heard laughter._

_'Who the hell are you?' Luffy called out again._

_'She can't help you...none of them can help you...' He suddenly recognized the voice._

_'You...come out and fight me!' Luffy shouted. He was struck once again in the face. 'Bastard...' He growled in anger. Luffy then closed his eyes. When he finally opened them, he lifted his hand up and grabbed something in front of him. He grinned. 'Gotcha!' He told and clenched his fist before punching whatever it was in front of him. When he did, a sudden light lit up the place he was in and revealed the invisible man that was attacking him. 'You bastard Who the hell are you?'_

_'Hehehehe...impressive use of your haki...' The culprit told him and then stood up._

_Luffy's eyes widened in shock as he stared up at himself. 'W-What the...' _

_'Shocked, are you?' The other Luffy told him._

_'You're...MY TWIN! SUGOI!' Luffy exclaimed with stars as eyes._

_'NO I'M NOT YOUR TWIN DUMBASS!' The other Luffy yelled at him._

_'Oh...then who are you and why do you look like me?'_

_'I look like you because I'm your opposite...you can call me Ruffi.'_

_'Ruffi? That's a silly name!' Luffy laughed._

_'It's almost the same as your name!' Ruffi snapped. 'Tch...whatever...' He clicked his tongue and then appeared in front of Luffy. 'How about you and me have a match...?' He whispered in his ear. Luffy's eyes widened when he suddenly felt a fist connect with his stomach._

_'Gah!' Luffy screamed as he felt pain in his stomach. 'What the hell...why did that hurt?'_

_'Stupid...I'm you so I know everything you do! I can use haki just like you and everything else you learned through your lifetime...' He smirked. 'So basically...anything you can do, I can do as well...but let's see who can do it better...' He smirked and then stretched his arm. 'Gomu Gomu no Pistol!' Luffy quickly dodged the attack, but Ruffi wasn't finished as he launched himself and Luffy and clothesline him. Luffy's head slammed against the floor._

_'Damn you...' Luffy stood up and ran toward him. 'Gomu Gomu no...'_

_'Gomu Gomu no...'_

_'PISTOL!' They both launched similar attacks and connected their fists with each other. _

_Luffy gritted his teeth in anger as he snapped his arm back. He then started to punch the air in front of rapidly. 'Gomu Gomu no...Gatling Gun!' He shouted and tried to deliver quick punches to his other self. However, he also had the same idea and launched his own Gatling Gun. Both of the never hit each other as their fists just simply connected with one another. Seeing it as being useless, Luffy stopped his attack and glared at his other self. 'Damn it...'_

_'Hehehe...I told you...no matter what you do, I can do the same...' Ruffi laughed._

_'Yosh...' Luffy placed his closed fist on the floor and started pumping his blood. His skin became pink and steam came out of his skin as he activated Gear Second. 'Gear...Second...' Luffy lifted his head and glared at Ruffi, only to see that he entered Gear Second as well._

_'Shishishi...so we're going on this route, huh? Well then, let's see where this goes...Luffy...' He smirked. The two then disappeared and a loud booming sound was heard a few seconds later._

XXXXXXXXXXX

"AAAAHHHH!" Lucifer screamed in pain as he pulled his hair.

"My liege!" Atman called out. "What's wrong?" He moved closer to him, but that became a huge mistake as Lucifer's eyes pulsed once again and he struck Atman in the gut. Atman spat out blood.

"Get away from me!" Lucifer yelled and then clenched his other hand before punching him again and launching him toward his soldiers. He slammed into them with great force that pushed him through a large amount of his soldiers. "AAAHHHH!" Lucifer screamed again and put his hands back on his head.

"W-What's going on?" Brook asked.

"I don't know...but...I think it has something to do with Luffy..." Nami answered as she never kept her eyes off of Lucifer.

"Really?" Chopper asked in excitement.

"Un...I think so..."

"Go Luffy!" He cheered.

"Luffy-san!" Brook yelled as well.

"Go Luffy!" Usopp joined in as well as he regained consciousness.

Robin only smiled.

"Mugiwara! Don't give up!" Franky added, regaining consciousness as well.

'Luffy...please come back...' Nami thought as she watched Lucifer intently.

XXXXXXXXXXX

When Krio heard his father's voice, he turned his head to see Lucifer punching his father and slamming him into the soldiers. "Father!" He shouted.

"If I were you, I wouldn't look away..." Zoro told him and went in for an attack. "Santoryu...Rengoku Oni Giri!" He slashed at Krio. Zoro looked behind him and saw that his attack didn't do anything. 'Damn these Logia types...' He cursed mentally.

"You're right...I shouldn't be worried about my father with you here..." He spoke and then he started transforming into a demon. "I guess that means I have to kill you before going to my father." He spoke in a deeper tone. His demon form wasn't as large as Hisho's was, but he was still tall in stature.

Zoro smirked. "Interesting..." He spoke with Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. 'The only way I can beat him is using my haki...looks like it's the perfect time to get to the next level...' He thought in excitement. He then charged at Krio. "Santoryu...Ul-Tora Gari!" He jumped and slashed down at Krio's hard gray skin. When he landed on the ground he looked up to see Krio's hand already descending down to ward him.

"Kaze Kaze no...Hurrigana!" He swiped his hand in front of him as a powerful whirlwind of wind surrounded Zoro. He lifted his swords up to prepare to block whatever it was that was going to come out and attack him. "Kaze Kaze no...Wind Scythe!" Zoro blocked a compressed projectile that was heading toward him and his eyes widened when he saw how many of the projectiles were coming at him from every direction.

'Shit...' He cursed and did his best to block every projectile. 'Damn...they're getting faster...' He also noticed that it was getting difficult to breathe. 'Shit...' He deflected another projectile and before another can get close he got into position. "Santoryu...Kokujo: O Tatsumaki!" He spun and created his own tornado around himself and each projectile that touched it was quickly destroyed. He then watched as his attack connected with the larger tornado around him. His eyes widened when his attack dispersed. When it did, Krio came out of the wind and swipe his hand at Zoro. Zoro lifted his swords to defend himself, but he was pushed anyway and toward the Hurrigana. 'Shit!' He cursed. He quickly did a 180. "Hyakuhachi Pound Ho!" He launched his attack, which stopped him from entering the Hurrigana. He landed on the ground and turned around. His breathing was getting heavier.

"You're losing oxygen...Roronoa Zoro..." Krio told him.

"I don't need you to tell me that!"

"Hmph...sorry, but I have to end this now..." He told him and then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Kaze Kaze no...Cross Scythe!" Zoro's eyes widened as he moved at a speed he never saw before and slashed Zoro's chest. Zoro bit down on Wado Ichimonji so that he didn't drop it and fell to a knee. Krio turned around to see he was still alive. "I'm impressed you were able to survive..." He told him.

"Like I would lose...not after everything I did for two years..." He replied.

"Hmph...well then...I guess I'll have to try again." He said and crossed his arms again. Zoro quickly turned around so that he could take the attack head on and not get a scar on his back.

'Calm down...he may be fast, but you can catch up to him...' He huffed and gripped his swords tightly, keeping his eye on Krio.

"Kaze Kaze no...Cross Scythe!" He charged at the same speed again. Zoro lifted his swords and then came a clang as Zoro was successfully able to block it. He smirked, but not for long as his chest was slashed once again.

'W-What the...?'

"Did you really think that I cut you with my hands? Sorry, but this attack doesn't work like that...but now that I got you in front of me...Kaze Kaze no...Wind Kamikaze Royale!" Zoro's eyes widened as a barrage of slashes suddenly attacked him all over his body. Blood spurt from every cut from his body. Zoro fell to his knees as Wado Ichimonji fell from his mouth. Zoro's head stayed up as he looked up to the sky as he felt pain from all over his body. Krio stared at him and then turned around to leave his Hurrigana. "I know you're not dead, but all the air around the Hurrigana will leave and you'll ultimately suffocate. It was a great fight...'

"I'm not done..." Krio's eyes widened as he felt a demonic aura behind him. He turned his head to see Zoro back on his feet and all three swords in place. "I promised my Captain I would never lose again...and like hell I'm going to break that promise again!" Zoro pushed off his leg and swung his swords at Krio who raised his arms to block them. He then yelled in pain as he felt the blades cutting his skin. He hissed in pain as he tried to push Zoro's blades off of him, but it wasn't working.

'What the hell...where did he get this sudden strength?' He wondered as Zoro quickly pulled his swords back and swung his swords again. Krio wasn't going to block his attack with his hands again and simply used his devil fruit to fly into the air. Zoro's attack missed, but we wasn't going to let him get away. He jumped and appeared in front of Krio again. 'He got faster too!'

"Santoryu...Ul-Tora Gari!" Zoro slashed him and this time was able to effectively slashed his body, causing blood to spurt out.

"Gah!" Krio screamed in pain as the two started to descend downward. Krio crashed into the floor and Zoro landed on his feet. "Damn it...where did you get this sudden strength from?" Krio growled as he raised himself up on one arm, the other was on his chest.

Zoro didn't respond and got ready to launch an attack. Krio stood up and crossed his arms across his chest. "Kiki Kyutoryu..." he muttered as he suddenly had two more Zoro's appear behind him with 6 more swords.

"Like I'll let you!" Krio roared as he had to stop him right here and now. "Kaze Kaze no...Wind Scythe!" He than charged at an incredible speed.

"...Asura: Ichibugin!" The two clashed as they appeared on opposite sides of the Hurrigana. After a few seconds...blood spurt out of Krio's body as he fell to his knees and then to the ground. Zoro put his swords back in their scabbards and let out a sigh as the Hurrigana dispersed.

"I-I-Impossible..." He heard Krio groan.

"Thanks...for a good fight..." Zoro told him before he started his walk toward the others.

Zoro vs Krio

Winner: Zoro

To Be Continued...


End file.
